Monday saw temperatures bring near record highs for the day—it doesn’t often get up into triple digits that late in September, especially not 102 or 103 degrees. But that heat foretold the first hint of fall.
According to the National Weather Service, what we saw on Monday is known as “compressional warming.” We had strong southwestern winds from West Texas come into town, compressing as it pushed downward, causing higher temperatures due to the friction of the system meeting cooler air closer to the ground.
The cold front began this morning with a denser blast of air pushing out the hotter, higher-pressure system. That cooler air will settle in for the next few days, plunging temperatures as much as 30 degrees below what they were on Monday. By the time you wake up Wednesday, the NWS believes temperatures will be in the 50s.
This is the most significant cold front we’ve seen this season. Lows will hover in the mid- to upper-50s and highs will peak in the mid-80s. In layman terms, that’s going to be “cool nights and pleasant days,” per the NWS. You probably should bring a just-in-case umbrella to work; there are chances of spotty storms following the front.
This isn’t winter. But it’s a nice reprieve. Expect lows in the 50s to continue Wednesday night, with some of the more rural areas surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth proper to dip into the 40s. Thursday gets sunny and a bit warmer, pushing highs into the low 80s.
Plan—and celebrate—accordingly. It will last at least through Friday, which is the kickoff for the State Fair of Texas. And then, of course, it heats up again next weekend.