A look back into recent Austin winter climatology

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas winter months have proven challenging to forecast. Since 2019, Austin has had numerous winter weather events that created widespread power outages, damage to property and disruption to everyday life.

Strong cold fronts can drastically drop temperatures to well-below freezing. Unstable clashing of air masses can produce a wide variety of severe weather in the Lone Star State. Texans need to be prepared for any kind of weather during the winter season.

Digging into Austin area climatology, we can get a better idea of how the upcoming winter season will play out. The average mean temperature and total precipitation were examined between the months of December through February.

Temperature Trend

When researching the overall mean temperature, recent winters have been significantly warmer than average in the Austin area.

Both the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 winter seasons were 2.13° warmer than average. The exception being the 2020-2021 with a cooler than average mean temperature.

Total Precipitation

Total precipitation has continued to fluctuate in recent years. The Austin area averages a sum 7.25" of precipitation during the winter months.

The largest outlier in recent years is the 2023-2024 winter season. Three out of the last five winters have been drier than average.

How About Snow?

Measurable snowfall is rare in Central Texas but there have been several notable winter weather events in recent years. Typically, Central Texas will experience a significant ice storm before heavy snow storms.

However, in recent years there have been several seasons of measurable snow.

The outlier is the 2020-2021 season, where most of Texas experienced record-low temperatures and significant ice and snow totals.

The upcoming 2024-2025 winter season is forecasted to be warmer and drier than average.