Posted: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:19 AM - 9,022 Readers

By: Claudia Grisales

Central Texas’ weeklong streak of triple-digit heat is expected to continue into the weekend, but there could be relief in store by next week, says Bob Rose, meteorologist for the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Today, we’ll see a high of 104, marking the sixth straight day of triple-digit highs. Yesterday’s high reached 103, and 104 the day before.

On Saturday, we’re looking at a high of 103, and 104 on Sunday, Rose said.

Low temperatures are slated to reach 77 or 78 throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Despite the extreme heat, summer doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday, Rose said.

Rose said we could continue to see triple-digit weather into the early part of next week.

By Wednesday, however, we could see a shot at rain and a slight dip in our daily highs to the high-90s, Rose said. A high pressure system lingering over the Austin area during the last month will finally move, giving the area a chance for rain, he said.

“The big high pressure system that has been sitting on top of us this last week, really the last month, looks to weaken and it will move more to the Southwest,” Rose said.

“Without the big high on top of us, the weather should become more unstable and will allow a strong flow of moisture to move in from the Gulf,” Rose said. “This will allow the atmosphere to become more unstable and bring in a few scattered showers around Wednesday.”

For now, the area could be looking at a 30 percent chance of rain by Wednesday. We could also see a high of 97 that day, and 95 by Thursday, Rose said.

At the current rate of extreme heat, June could be the hottest month on record based on its average high, Rose said. By mid-June, the average high temperature was 100.3 degrees, above a record set in 2008 for an average high of 99.5, Rose said.

“Right now, it’s only been 16 days so far, but the average high temperature right now is the hottest on record,” he said.

*  Story Contributed by: Claudia Grisales