Strong cold front ushers in season's first freeze this week

Plan ahead to protect pets and plants from freezing temperatures.

Arctic air will follow a cold front into Central Texas Monday morning. Many sites around the area will reach high temperatures near 50 ° early in the day, before cooling through the afternoon. 

Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms will also be possible as this strong cold front moves in. 

Strong winds in the wake of the front will result in wind chills in the upper 30s and low 40s during the day. 

Overnight Tuesday, cloudy skies and breezy winds linger. This will prevent a widespread freeze.

However, Hill Country residents will see temperatures dip below freezing close to sunrise Tuesday morning. Wind chills will be in the teens and 20s. 

The clouds and strong winds will help prevent a more widespread freeze. 

This changes Wednesday morning. Skies will clear out and winds will calm down during the day Tuesday. Highs will warm into the upper 40s with mostly sunny skies. 

Expect freezing temperatures around much of Central Texas, including the Austin Metro area, by Wednesday morning. 

Beyond mid-week, we’ll warm slowly with nighttime lows in the 30s through Friday morning and daytime highs into the 60s by the weekend.