Rare May Flannel Alert Issued Across Texas as Saturday Sunrise Temperatures Drop to 36 in Amarillo, 43 in Lubbock, and 50 in Austin Before Afternoon Warmup
TEXAS — A rare May flannel alert was issued across Texas as an unseasonably cold Saturday morning delivered some of the lowest sunrise temperatures seen across the state during May, with Amarillo dropping to 36 degrees, Lubbock reaching 43, Abilene at 46, Midland at 48, Austin at 50, and Dallas at 52 degrees during the cold Saturday morning hours before afternoon warming brought more seasonable conditions back to the region.
The cold sunrise temperature readings stretched from the Texas Panhandle southward through West Texas and into Central Texas, reflecting the broad reach of the cold air mass that settled across the state overnight Friday into Saturday morning following recent storm system passage.
Panhandle and West Texas Face Coldest Morning Readings
The coldest Saturday sunrise temperatures were concentrated across the Texas Panhandle and West Texas corridor. Amarillo’s forecast low of 36 degrees placed it just four degrees above the freezing mark, representing a remarkably cold May morning for one of Texas’s northernmost major cities. Lubbock at 43 degrees and Abilene at 46 degrees rounded out the coldest readings across the region, while Midland came in at 48 degrees and El Paso recorded 51 degrees during the cold Saturday morning period.
The Panhandle readings in particular stood in sharp contrast to the warm and humid conditions typically expected across Texas by early May, underscoring the unusual nature of the cold air intrusion driving the rare flannel alert across the state.
Central and South Texas Also Running Unusually Cold
Even the typically warmer central and southern portions of Texas experienced notably cold Saturday morning temperatures. Austin dropped to 50 degrees, San Antonio reached 52 degrees, Houston came in at 54 degrees, Del Rio at 53 degrees, and Corpus Christi at 59 degrees during the Saturday sunrise window, with only Brownsville in the southernmost tip of Texas holding closer to seasonable readings at 63 degrees.
The widespread nature of the cold morning temperatures across virtually the entire state confirmed the broad and significant reach of the cold air mass responsible for the rare May flannel alert conditions from the Panhandle all the way through South Texas.
Short Sleeves Return by Saturday Afternoon
Despite the unusually cold Saturday morning readings across Texas, the flannel alert was expected to be short-lived as afternoon warming rapidly pushed temperatures back toward more seasonable and comfortable levels across the state. The return of short sleeve weather by Saturday afternoon provided a clear and relatively quick end to the cold snap, with residents able to enjoy warmer afternoon conditions following the remarkably cold May morning start across the full Texas corridor.
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