The Austin forecast we've been waiting for: No more rain or snow, ice on the way out

Patches of grass began to emerge from under the snow in Austin on Friday — along with a little hope.

After a record 144-hour streak of freezing temperatures, and a miserable week marred by utility outages and dangerous roads, the ice draping tree limbs and the half-foot of snow Austin got as a Valentine's Day gift finally started to seriously melt Friday.

Friday's temperatures, aided by a strong showing of sunshine, made a solid climb above freezing, with a daytime high that approached 40 degrees. Even the biting north-northwest winds subsided.

At night, temperatures retreated below freezing one last time — at least for a while.

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The National Weather Service forecast for Saturday calls for the sunshine to stick around, and temperatures that could reach as high as 52 degrees, which is still almost 15 degrees colder than normal. Warm south winds could kick up to 5 to 10 mph.

Clouds will roll in Saturday night, forecasters said, but this time temperatures will stay above 40 degrees, making it the first night in Austin to be above freezing since Feb. 11.

The worst freeze to hit Austin in more than a generation started Feb. 12 and lasted for six full days, shattering a record of five days and 20 hours set in December 1983.

Two nights later, on Feb. 14, a snowfall of historic proportions began to blanket Austin. By the next morning, Austin recorded more than 6 inches of snow with nearly 8 inches in other parts of Travis County. That event produced the most snow Austin has seen since in more than 70 years, when about 6.5 inches fell in January 1949.

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Less than an inch of new snow fell Thursday in the city, the third snowfall in Austin so far this year.

February's snowfall of 6.4 inches, when added to the 1.5 inches that fell in January, would make the winter of 2020-21 the third-snowiest in Austin weather history with 7.9 inches.

Austin got the most snow in the winter of 1937-38, when 11 inches fell. The next snowiest winter was in 1984-85, when the city got 8.7 inches.

But the weather service's extended forecast doesn't call for any more snow, or rain or ice. Instead, we can look forward to more seasonable winter temperatures as we approach the meteorological first day of spring on March 1. 

Sunday should be partly sunny, and temperatures might rise as high as 60 degrees amid balmy south winds of around 5 mph. Sunday night, skies will remain partly cloudy with breezes becoming chillier north winds.

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Evening temperatures will fall into the 30s before settling around 35 degrees, forecasters said.

Austin's outlook for Monday includes more sunshine and temperatures once again topping 60 degrees, the weather service said. Skies at night should remain mostly clear with dry air allowing overnight temperatures to slip to as low as 36.

Temperatures will approach more seasonable levels Tuesday with a high of 66 and sunny skies, forecasters said. Warmer southerly breezes also return. Clouds at night should help trap radiant heat acquired during the day and keep overnight temperatures above 49 degrees.

Wednesday's weather could include Austin temperatures soaring to spring-like heights, peaking in the afternoon at 73 degrees, according to the weather service. Mostly cloudy skies in the evening should help overnight temperatures stay warmer than 50 degrees. 

Rain chances reenter the Austin weather forecast Thursday, which has a 20% chance of showers and a high near 64.

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