Posted: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:26 AM - 14,686 Readers

By: Claudia Grisales

Yesterday’s respite from extreme heat will come to an end as triple-digit temperatures as high as 109 move into Central Texas this weekend, which would mark the year’s hottest temps.

Austin posted a high of just 94 degrees Thursday as rain showers developed throughout the region and help drive down projected highs. It was the area’s first day below the 100-degree mark in nearly two weeks.

Today, we’ll be looking at a high of about 105, said Amanda Fanning, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. The projected high was downgraded slightly thanks to the recent showers, she said. But that won’t last long: we could hit a high of 109 Saturday and Sunday, she said.

Today’s high would mark the 71st triple-digit day of the year. On Wednesday, Camp Mabry reached a high of 106, the 70th triple-digit day of the year, breaking a record 69 days set in 1925.

The region also remains under a heat advisory extended to Sunday night, with early weekend highs expected to soar between 105 and 110, the National Weather Service said.

The service is advising residents to take precautions to prolonged heat exposure, and utilities are asking customers to conserve power if possible to avoid outages, especially during peak demand in afternoon hours.

Statesman reporter Ben Wear weather chronicled the 1925 record when we neared the record in 2009, you can read that story here.