Arctic outbreak will bring freezing temps to San Antonio
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Photo: Courtesy of NOAA
Our windy weather is expected to turn freezing by next week with the increasing likelihood of a major Arctic outbreak hitting the Lower 48 states.
Threat level: Falling temperatures and gusts of wind, ushering in wind chills as low as the single digits in the San Antonio area early next week, Bob Fogarty, a New Braunfels-based meteorologist with the National Weather Service, tells Axios.
- Texas' electric grid operator issued an alert for Monday through Wednesday, anticipating possible emergency conditions, but ERCOT expects to have sufficient supply to meet demand.
What's happening: The frigid air is associated with a lobe of the tropospheric polar vortex that is slated to break off from its Arctic origins and blast southward.
- "It looks like we're going to have a very strong cold front come through Sunday night or Monday morning," Fogarty says.
- Lows might be in the mid-20s Monday morning before bouncing up to 40° — and then diving back down to the upper teens overnight and Tuesday morning.
What they're saying: NWS meteorologist Matthew Brady says the windchill on Monday will be below freezing and will get even colder around sunrise on Tuesday.
- The windchill in San Antonio proper is expected to be in the mid-to-low teens, while Boerne and the Hill Country will experience high single-digit windchills.
Between the lines: Forecasters are not anticipating precipitation with this storm.
What's next: City spokesperson Laura Mayes tells Axios that information on winter preparedness will be shared later this week.
- She encourages residents to review this guide in the meantime.
- Dwayne Robinson, chair of the commission handling local Martin Luther King Jr. Day events, tells Axios there are no plans to cancel the annual MLK March set for Monday.