Posted: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:35 AM - 15,089 Readers

By: Claudia Grisales

You lucky Austin City Limits Festival concertgoers: lower temperatures and rain chances have moved into Central Texas just in time for the popular music fest.

As a high-pressure system broke down and moved south this week, a “cool” front moved into the Hill Country, west of Austin yesterday, and stalled out, drawing Gulf air and moisture to the region, said Chris Morris, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

That’s pulled us away from the extreme triple-digit highs that have largely dominated the last four months and toward highs in the lower 90s, the service said. Lows will be in the low 70s, the service said.

The region is also slated to see relatively higher levels of humidity, of above 30 percent, which means concert goers will still have to endure a warm visit. However, the higher humidity levels bode good news for area firefighting efforts.

We’ll also see a 20 percent chance for rain today, and again on Sunday, Morris said. Rain chances decline to about 15 percent on Saturday, he said.

The new rain chances come as a front stalled out over the Hill Country yesterday and lingered longer than expected, Morris said. And with the development of a high-level disturbance in Mexico that has made its way into Texas, the area may have a decent shot at seeing some light showers, if not more, Morris said.

In San Antonio this morning, one-tenth inch of rain was recorded there, Morris said.

Yesterday, the high reached 96 at Camp Mabry, breaking a recent streak of 100-plus highs for the region. This year, Austin has posted a record 85 triple-digit days, well ahead of the previous 1925 record of 69 triple-digit days.

And while Central Texas still faces a higher risk of fires starting thanks to prolonged hot and dry conditions, calm winds and higher humidity levels could help fire crews still working to fully contain a massive blaze that began in Bastrop County 13 days ago.

On Sunday, Bastrop County has a 20 percent chance of rain, Morris said.