Wet Weekend Ahead For Austin Region With Possible Hail, Winds

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Before we get started, let's get something out of the way: Patch is merely the messenger, and we don't control the weather. Which is all to say that this weekend will be rainy, with the potential for severe weather potentially producing large hail and strong winds.

Before the rain descends upon the Austin region, be advised there will be patchy fog before 10 a.m. on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Otherwise, the day will be partly sunny with a high near 84 degrees. The winds will be calm, readers, becoming north-northeast around 5 miles per hour before shifting southeast.

Then things start to get dicey. Friday night calls for a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms under mostly cloudy skies with a low of 66 degrees. The winds, you ask. What about the winds? They will be blowing in a south-southeast direction at around 10 miles per hour, forecasters predict.

By Saturday, the chance of precipitation doubles to 80 percent. Showers and thunderstorms are all but a certainty, in other words. The high is expected to be near 79 degrees. South winds will blow between 5 and 10 miles per hour.

Since this story was written early Friday, meteorologists have upgraded the severity of the projected storms. Some of the storms may contain large hail and result in wind damage, weather prognosticators said in an updated forecast. Some areas in the Austin region could see up to three inches of rain, with more widespread levels of between one to two inches. Conditions are ripe for tornado formation, although the threat is being viewed as negligible.

The chances of showers and thunderstorms decrease to 40 percent by Saturday night under mostly cloudy skies and a low temp of around 65 degrees. Winds will be pretty much the same, blowing from the south between 5 and 10 miles per hour.

The chance of showers and thunderstorms are reduced to 30 percent by Sunday. Forecasters re calling for partly sunny conditions with a high near 82 degrees. Those winds won't change, predicted to be between 5 and 10 miles per hour in a south-southwest direction.

By Sunday night, chances for showers and thunderstorms are reduced further to a mere 20 percent. It will be partly cloudy, the NWS says, with a low of 59 degrees. The winds actually take a turn by this point, blowing in from the west. The wind speed will be unchanged at a gentle 5 to 10 miles per hour.

Yes, its a cliché, but you really might want to keep an umbrella handy. Sorry to have to be the one to tell you this. But, hey, Monday calls for sunny skies with a high near 82 degrees, and those winds will pick up in a most delightful manner at 10 to 15 miles per hour.

So yay Monday? Right? Sorry about the wet days ahead. We'll see what we can do for the next weekend.

Tips on driving in fog, rain

On a serious note, please drive safely in the rain. People often forget to slow down or think the car will handle the same way as it does in dry weather. But it doesn't. We found tips on driving in the rain here. And we all could benefit from a primer on driving in fog. Often, drivers' reflexive action is to engage the high beams in order to enhance visibility, but it's really the last thing you want to do. Fog consists of tiny water droplets that spread and reflect light, making your high beams not useful in the least during fog. For tips on driving in fog, click here.