Sweeping cold front brings temperature plummets, storms to Texas

It’s that time of year when weak cold fronts continue to just barely breach the borders of Texas. While cities on the edges of the Lone Star State are repeatedly getting major, yet short lived, temperature dips, the inner-state cities aren’t seeing as much luck. In fact, many are seeing unseasonably warm afternoons. Texas weather remains as unpredictable as ever.

Fall is a fickle season in Texas. That’s not changing in 2025. A cold front is blowing in from the Pacific Northwest that’ll plummet temperatures in the Texas Panhandle and bring some storm chances to the rest of the state.

The coastal front should reach the very tip of Texas by Sunday evening, when rain chances creep in from Dalhart down to Amarillo. As the cold air settles, these cities could see as much as an almost 20-degree drop in afternoon highs between Friday, October 3, and Tuesday of next week.

In Dalhart, temperatures climbed to 90 degrees at the hottest point of the day. By Tuesday, it shouldn’t get warmer than 71 degrees, according to the National Weather Service forecast. It won’t be quite as extreme of a difference in Amarillo, but afternoon highs will still plummet 15 degrees between Friday and Tuesday, dipping from 90 degrees to 75.

“The temperatures will be impacted as well, since there’s some cooler fall like air on the other side of the boundary it`s possible for one area of the Panhandles to be in the 60s while an area well to the south is in the 80s,” the NWS forecast discussion for the Texas Panhandle states, noting rain chances could be on the rise.

As often happens when warm and cool air converge, this frontal boundary could spell heavy rainfall for the Texas Panhandle. Some cities and towns could see as much 1 to 1.5 inches of rain early next week, and there’s anywhere from a 20% to a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms across the region Sunday night through Tuesday evening.

The federal weather forecaster does say there could be a risk of excessive rainfall in certain cities, depending on how this front sets up in the coming days.

In the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, it’s not exactly going to be chilly next week. But there will finally be a few days that won’t hit the 90s. Once the cold front (which is estimated to be pretty weak by the time it hits North Texas) reaches DFW, it should drop the afternoon high from 91 degrees on Sunday to a more comfortable 87 degrees on Thursday.

It’s not exactly fall feels just yet, but it’s a slight reprieve from what has been an unusually warm season so far in Texas. It won’t be as gloomy in this slice of Texas, according to the National Weather Service. There’s a low 20% chance of showers in the region as of Friday afternoon, October 3. But those odds could climb if the front shifts.

“The low rain chances will continue into Wednesday as a weak disturbance moves overhead. Similarly, rain chance will remain capped at 20% with coverage expected to be low,” the NWS writes.

This isn’t going to feel like the start of fall in Central Texas or San Antonio, unfortunately. The only real impact this cold front will bring is some low-level rain odds to the region. But, it’ll keep temperatures from climbing above 95 degrees just as they start to rise again.

It’s been an unusually warm start to fall from San Antonio to Austin and across Central Texas. Afternoons continue to break 90 degrees, and that’s not changing with this cold front. But it should keep those temperature peaks right where they’ve been the past couple of weeks.

“[The National Weather Service] would like to see a stronger front and some signal of mid and upper level support before increasing our rain chances above 20%. We do not expect any significant cooling as we head into late next week behind the above mentioned boundary. Highs will still remain above normal along with near to above normal lows,” a long-range forecast for South Central Texas states.