Austin, the capital of Texas, sits on the Colorado River at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, where the Balcones Escarpment divides the plains from the hills, at approximately 30.27°N, 97.74°W. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — with long, very hot summers and mild winters.

Summer, from June to September, is long and very hot, with July and August the hottest — average highs around 36–37°C, and heatwaves that push past 40°C for weeks at a time — with high humidity making the heat oppressive. Rainfall is scarce in midsummer, and drought is a recurring threat across central Texas.

Winter, from December to February, is mild and short, with January the coolest month — average highs around 17°C and lows near 5°C. Frost occurs on the coldest nights, snow is rare, but severe Arctic outbreaks can occasionally plunge the region far below freezing, as in the catastrophic February 2021 freeze that collapsed the Texas power grid.

Austin receives around 850–900 mm of rain a year, with spring and autumn maxima and a dry midsummer; the rain often arrives in intense bursts, and the steep Hill Country terrain drains so rapidly that the region is known as Flash Flood Alley. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Austin sits at the head of Flash Flood Alley, where the Balcones Escarpment forces moist Gulf air upward into torrential downpours that race off the thin-soiled Hill Country into the rivers below — among the most flash-flood-prone terrain in North America. It also swings between severe drought and devastating flood.

To follow any single measurement in Austin more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.