There are big changes to our warmer than normal weather pattern on the way! An arctic cold front will trek through Texas Sunday and move through the Austin area late in the evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible ahead of the front. Behind it, much colder air will push in with gusty north winds.

Prepare to bundle up Monday!

We’ll also see our first freeze of the season in Austin Monday night. Temperatures will fall below 32 degrees for a couple hours right before dawn. Now’s the time to wrap those outdoor pipes, cover your plants and make sure your pets are taken care of.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
352 PM CST SAT DEC 8 2012

...SPRINGLIKE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND WILL GIVE WAY TO POLAR EXPRESS
LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY...

A COLD POLAR AIRMASS MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY WILL
PLUNGE SOUTH INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE LATE TONIGHT AND INTO SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS BY TOMORROW EVENING. AHEAD OF THIS RAPID SHIFT TO
WINTER...A CONTINUED WARM...MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL KEEP LOWS
TONIGHT MOSTLY IN THE LOW TO MID 60S AND SEND TEMPERATURES INTO
THE UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THESE SPRINGLIKE HIGH
TEMPERATURES ARE SOME 10 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL WITH THE
FORECAST LOWS CLOSE TO WHAT THE NORMAL HIGHS WOULD BE FOR THIS
TIME OF YEAR.

THIS WILL ALL CHANGE TOMORROW EVENING WHEN THE STRONG COLD FRONT
SWEEPS THROUGH THE REGION. LOW TEMPERATURES WILL PLUNGE NEAR OR
JUST BELOW FREEZING BY SUNRISE MONDAY ACROSS THE HILL COUNTRY WITH
LOWER 40S ALONG THE I-35 CORRIDOR. BREEZY NORTH WINDS OF 15 TO 25
MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE BUILDING SURFACE RIDGE AFTER MIDNIGHT
MONDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY. WITH CLEAR SKIES AND
DIMINISHING WINDS MONDAY NIGHT...TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO
PLUNGE. BY TUESDAY MORNING...FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL ENCOMPASS
VIRTUALLY THE ENTIRE SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AREA...WITH READINGS
FALLING TO NEAR 20 ACROSS THE HILL COUNTRY WITH THE MID TO UPPER
20S ALONG THE I-35 CORRIDOR.

THIS COLD WEATHER PATTERN WILL LIKELY LINGER ANOTHER DAY ON WEDNESDAY
BEFORE A RETURN SOUTHERLY FLOW STARTS A BONAFIDE WARMING TREND FOR
THE LATTER PART OF NEXT WEEK.

PREPARATIONS SHOULD BE MADE FOR THIS PERIOD OF COLD WEATHER. TENDER
VEGETATION AND PETS SHOULD BE PROTECTED. OUTDOOR PIPES SHOULD ALSO
BE WRAPPED...ESPECIALLY OVER HILL COUNTRY LOCATIONS WHERE MANY
HOURS OF SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER UPDATES
ON THIS UPCOMING COLD WEATHER EVENT.