Downtown

The Envy of the Country

We're starting the big weekend with near-perfect weather that will carry into much of next week. With rain to the east and west you have bragging rights for what is going to be an ideal weekend for everything outdoors.

Morning lows ranged from 37 at Burnet and 39 at Rosanky to 47 at San Marcos and 49 at Round Rock. The low at Austin-Mabry was 46. Waco's low was 44.

Strong northwest winds and very dry air are creating a fire danger. A RED FLAG WARNING is posted until 6:00 for Bell and Coryell Counties.

The sky will be sunny with afternoon highs in the upper 60s to low 70s. Winds will come from the northwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts into the middle/upper 20s. A clear sky tonight will combine with light wind and dry air sending lows to the lower/middle 40s. Saturday will be mostly sunny and warmer as highs reach the lower/middle 70s.

We see a shift in the
upper wind flow by late Sunday. Sunday will be mostly sunny for much of the day with a chance of some clouds by the late afternoon or early evening. Most highs will be in the upper 70s to low 80s.

An upper-level low moves from Utah into the middle of the U.S. on Monday while another cold front approaches from the west. We'll see increasing clouds Monday with a small chance of rain Monday night to Tuesday morning. We'll see rapid clearing by Tuesday afternoon with the cooler air keeping most highs in the 60s.

The rest of next week will be just fine, although we do see a chance of rain by Sunday, March 21.

Daylight Saving Time Those of us who work the early morning shift on the weekends face going to bed an hour earlier Saturday because Sunday is the first day of
Daylight Saving Time. This means you spring forward by setting your clocks AHEAD one hour.

Call for Flowers... Thank you to Dale Bulla from Jester Estates in northwest Austin for our first wildflower picture showing the bluebonnets. We expect a bountiful bluebonnet season and we want to know where they're coming up so please send us your photos as e-mail attachments to photos@news8austin.com then watch Weather on the Eights for them to air every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We'll be awarding prizes based on these guidelines:
* best photo of bluebonnets growing in the most unlikely spot
* photo of the biggest field of bluebonnets

We wish you a good day and a fun weekend.