|
 We could just leave that icon up there permanently and we’d be right about 80% of the time. As far as weathermen go, that’s gotta be hall-of-fame numbers. For a real 7-day forecast, click here. Read below to get a handle on the generalities of Austin weather and what to expect no matter when you're planning to visit. The tourist bureau will tell you Austin has a mild, temperate climate. But we’re gonna give it to you straight: it gets hot here in the summer, sometimes real hot. And the summer pretty much lasts from the end of April through the beginning of October. In fact, 1/3 of the entire calendar year sees the temperature reach 90º or higher, and days over 100º aren’t unusual.
Before you can even get the words “whoa, that’s really hot” out of your lips, note that the New York Times named Austin one of the best vacation destinations in the country…specifically in the summer. Once here you’ll notice Austinites spend way more time outdoors than most city’s inhabitants—be it a stroll on the hike-and-bike trail, a margarita out on the deck, a dip in one of the natural swimming holes, or anyone of the countless festivals. And it’s hard to miss national publication after publication finding another reason it’s so great to live here, let alone visit. So to be completely cheesy on the matter—when a place is this cool, the heat just doesn’t seem to matter.
But you want stats. Behold, the numbers:  Surely, that’s not enough facts and figures: - ◊ The record high temperature in Austin was 112º on Sep. 5, 2000. The record low was –2º on Jan. 31, 1949.
- ◊ The hottest month is typically July, with an average temperature of 89.1º. The coldest month is January, with an average of 49.9º.
- ◊ On average, the temperature will drop below 45º only 88 days per year, and below freezing just 24 days (even these days are typically pretty warm during the day).
- ◊ Snow is very rare. How rare? Glad you asked. Since 1898 there have been exactly 54 days with some snowfall in Austin.
 Soaking up the sun in Austin - ◊ There has never been a recorded instance of a white Christmas in Austin. Though chestnuts frequently roast on an open fire.
- ◊ On the sunny side, we get 300 days of sunshine per year.
- ◊ Average annual rainfall is 32.1 inches.
- ◊ The most rainfall in one day was 10 inches on April 23, 1915.
- ◊ The wettest month of they year is May, with an average of 4.37 inches of rain, followed by September, averaging 3.45 inches.
- ◊ The wettest year on record (since 1854) was 1919, with 64.68 inches of precipitation. The driest year was 1954 with only 11.42 inches.
Truthfully, we could have summed up Austin weather in four sentences.
1) Summer is long and hot.
2) Winter can get surprisingly cold, even freezing, but barely lasts two months.
3) Spring and fall are unbelievably perfect, but too darn short.
4) It rains every now and then.
But that would have meant missing out on all the number. Numbers are fun.
Sources: National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
|