AUSTIN, Texas — One of Austin’s busiest weekends of the year is almost here! The Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) kicks off Friday, and it looks like the weather will hold up pretty nicely for opening weekend.
A very weak cold front passed Wednesday morning over Central Texas, which will lower temperatures only slightly for the start of the weekend. If you’re coming into town Thursday, the forecast is dry with afternoon highs in the mid-90s.
The takeaway from the first weekend of ACL will be the hot and dry conditions. Afternoon temperatures will be in the lower to mid-90s and overnight temperatures will remain seasonal, ranging through the 60s and lower 70s.
As the weekend unfolds, there will be some slight rain chances that appear, but there’s a very low likelihood this would affect festivalgoers or delay concerts.
Below is a closer look at what the global forecast models are putting out in regards to rain Saturday evening. The precipitation will be mostly pinned to the Texas coastline, but we can’t rule out a small possibility of an isolated sprinkle making it into the Austin metro.
While rain is not much of a concern, humidity may be one of the main weather conditions festivalgoers notice. Dewpoints will range through the 60s, which may have the air feeling a bit dense at times, in addition to the heat.
Something else our music lovers should pay attention to is the high allergy count. Grass, fall elm, ragweed and mold have all been trending into the high to very high category for the past week.
In addition to high allergy content in the air, dry duty soils could also create problems for those with sensitivities to lowered air quality. It would be wise to bring some sort of bandana or mask to wear inside the festival to protect your airways.
For those flying out Monday from Austin, weather conditions will stay quiet, but make sure to get to the airport two hours early in case of delays.
