Temperature

Clouds

In Austin, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The clearer part of the year in Austin begins around May 13 and lasts for 1.9 months, ending around July 9. On June 12, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 72% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 28% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around July 9 and lasts for 10 months, ending around May 13. On January 3, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 45% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 55% of the time. Cloud Cover Categories Cloud Cover Categories in Austin clearer cloudier cloudier Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 0% 100% 10% 90% 20% 80% 30% 70% 40% 60% 50% 50% 60% 40% 70% 30% 80% 20% 90% 10% 100% 0% Jun 12 72% Jun 12 72% Jan 3 55% Jan 3 55% Now Now clear mostly clear partly cloudy mostly cloudy overcast 0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100% The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

Precipitation

Sun

Humidity

Wind

Best Time of Year to Visit

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Austin throughout the year, we compute two travel scores. The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Austin for general outdoor tourist activities are from early April to late May and from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the last week of April. Tourism Score Tourism Score in Austin best time Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 0 2 4 6 8 10 6.5 6.5 2.6 2.6 6.5 6.5 4.8 4.8 Now Now precipitation precipitation clouds clouds tourism score The tourism score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line). The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Austin for hot-weather activities is from mid May to late September, with a peak score in the third week of June. Beach/Pool Score Beach/Pool Score in Austin best time Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 0 2 4 6 8 10 6.6 6.6 0.7 0.7 6.3 6.3 Now Now precipitation precipitation clouds clouds temperature temperature beach/pool score The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line). Methodology For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed. Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies. Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more. Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter. Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Growing Season

Solar Energy

Topography

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Austin are 30.267 deg latitude, -97.743 deg longitude, and 489 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Austin contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 190 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 510 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (712 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,657 feet). The area within 2 miles of Austin is covered by artificial surfaces (100%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (51%) and trees (18%), and within 50 miles by cropland (30%) and shrubs (26%).

Data Sources