AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Residents across Central Texas were spending much of Wednesday getting ready for an Arctic cold front set to send temperatures plummeting towards the Christmas weekend.
The National Weather Service has posted a Wind Chill Warning and a Hard Freeze Warning for all of the Austin metro area, beginning Thursday evening.
The cold front is expected to push through the Austin area late Thursday morning, sending temperatures below the freezing mark by Thursday afternoon. Forecast lows Friday morning are in the middle teens, with wind chills that will be in the single digits, possibly even below zero.
In addition to the cold airmass, wind gusts will reach up to 40mph behind the front Thursday into early Friday morning. The wind combined with the low temperatures will create a dangerous situation for anyone in the elements, where frostbite could happen on exposed skin in just 30-45 minutes.
Temperatures Friday afternoon are expected to stay at or below freezing, before we plunge back into the upper teens by Saturday morning. The forecast calls for much of the area to get back above freezing for a short time Saturday afternoon, with one more hard freeze Christmas morning.
City of Austin officials will have warming centers open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The city is also prepared to offer cold weather shelters as needed based on weather conditions. More information is available on the city's website.
