Austin, TX

Heat dome moves into Texas with record highs expected

Published

2 years ago

August 21, 2024

Heat dome moves into Texas with record highs expected

AUSTIN, Texas — A heat dome that has led to nearly 90 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures in Phoenix moved into Texas Wednesday, with record highs expected to fall by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

What You Need To Know

A major heat alert is in place for Texas, reflecting what the weather service called “rare and/or long-duration extreme heat with little to no overnight relief”

A heat dome is a slow moving, upper-level high pressure system of stable air and a deep layer of high temperatures, meteorologist Bryan Jackson said

Record high temperatures were expected in cities such as Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Amarillo

Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said calls about heat-related illness in the area around the Texas state Capitol since April 1 are up by about one per day compared with a year ago, though July was somewhat milder this year

Meanwhile, energy demand in Texas hit an unofficial all-time high Tuesday, according to data from the state’s grid operator.

A major heat alert is in place for Texas, reflecting what the weather service called “rare and/or long-duration extreme heat with little to no overnight relief.” An extreme heat alert was issued for eastern New Mexico.

A heat dome is a slow moving, upper-level high pressure system of stable air and a deep layer of high temperatures, meteorologist Bryan Jackson said.

“It is usually sunny, the sun is beating down, it is hot and the air is contained there,” Jackson said. “There are dozen or so sites that are setting daily records … mostly over Texas.”

Record high temperatures were expected in cities such as Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Amarillo. In Phoenix, monsoon rains have provided brief respites since Sunday, although daytime highs continue to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).

The dome was expected to move into western Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico beginning Saturday, then into the mid-Mississippi Valley, where it was forecast to weaken slightly, Jackson said.

About 14.7 million people are under an excessive heat warning, with heat indexes expected at 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) and above. Another 10 million people were under a heat advisory.

There were 38 heat-related deaths in Texas from January through July, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, and hundreds have already sought emergency care, according to MedStar ambulance in Fort Worth, Texas. The service responded to 286 heat-related calls during the first 20 days of August, about 14 per day, compared to about 11 per day in August 2023, according to public information officer Desiree Partain.

Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said calls about heat-related illness in the area around the Texas state Capitol since April 1 are up by about one per day compared with a year ago, though July was somewhat milder this year.

“The vast majority of what we see is heat exhaustion, which is good because we catch it before it’s heat stroke, but it’s bad because people are not listening to the red flags,” such as heat cramps in the arms, legs or stomach warning that the body is becoming too hot, Stedman said.

Despite the record heat in Texas, residents haven’t been asked to cut back on their energy use like in years prior. This contrasts with the 11 conservation notices issued last year. One reason is that the agency, which manages Texas’ independent energy grid and deregulated providers, has improved the grid’s capabilities with the addition of more than 15 gigawatts of power supply since last summer.

Although the agency has gotten better at controlling the demands of the grid, their criteria for when to notify residents to conserve energy has also changed, Doug Lewin, an energy consultant and president of Stoic Energy said.

Lewin suspects it’s because they’re ineffective and unpopular.

“I don’t think they’re seeing all that much reduction when they give notices,” Lewin said of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. In fact public uproar against the conservation warnings has led to the agency sending fewer of them, he continued.

“There are many factors that ERCOT operations take into consideration when determining the need to issue conservation, case by case depending on conditions at the time,” communications manager Trudi Webster said on the matter.

“It’s been a hot summer, but this one does stand out in terms of extremes,” said Jackson, the meteorologist.

Earlier this month, about 100 people were sickened and 10 were hospitalized due to extreme heat at a Colorado air show and at least two people have died due to the heat in California’s Death Valley National Park.

Globally, a string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Nino climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Thursday.

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Austin, TX

PHOTO: Apparent gunman in Austin 6th Street shooting wore ‘Property of Allah’ shirt

Published

30 minutes ago

March 1, 2026

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PHOTO: Apparent gunman in Austin 6th Street shooting wore ‘Property of Allah’ shirt

article

FOX News obtained this image that purportedly shows the gunman responsible for a deadly mass shooting in Austin, Texas, on March 1, 2026. (FOX News)

AUSTIN, Texas – Investigators are probing the deadly shooting on Austin’s Sixth Street, that left three dead and 14 injured.

Officials are gathering new evidence that could point to extremist motives, as additional details surfaced Sunday about the gunman’s background and clothing during the incident.

What we know:

Three people, including the gunman, were killed, and 14 others were wounded early Sunday outside Buford’s beer garden in Downtown Austin.

Police said officers were responding to reports of gunfire around 1:40 a.m., before confronting the suspect and fatally shooting him after he opened fire.

Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect, but an FBI spokesman said on Sunday that investigators are reviewing materials recovered from the suspect and his vehicle that indicate a “potential nexus to terrorism,” but cautioned that it is too early to determine a motive or whether the attack was directed or inspired by a specific group.

Dig deeper:

FOX News reported Sunday that it had obtained a photo of the suspect taken before the shooting. The image showed a man holding a firearm and wearing a gray sweatshirt bearing the words “Property of Allah.”

Sources also told the network the suspect was wearing an undershirt that appeared to display an Iranian flag or Iranian imagery.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX News and press conferences held by Austin police and the FBI.

Mass ShootingsDowntownAustinTravis CountyTexasCrime and Public Safety

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Austin, TX

Multiple people injured in mass shooting on 6th St; Austin Police investigating

Published

13 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Multiple people injured in mass shooting on 6th St; Austin Police investigating

Austin Police are investigating a mass shooting at Buford’s on West 6th Street that’s left multiple people injured.

This happened around 2 A.M. as the bar was closing.

The number of people injured is not known.

Austin Police are also investigating an Officer Involved Shooting in the 600 block of Rio Grande Street.

They say the suspect is deceased.

APD says the call originated as a shoot/stab hotshot incident with multiple people injured.

Austin Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department are also on the scene.

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This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.

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Austin, TX

State of the Texas Longhorns: Where UT athletics stands in early 2026

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

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State of the Texas Longhorns: Where UT athletics stands in early 2026

If Bevo had to step in front of the microphones, cameras and Texas football fans everywhere to deliver an annual State of the Longhorns address, what would he say?

Maybe he would expound on the virtues of Arch Manning and deride the College Football Playoff committee for leaving the Longhorns out. Or maybe he would just as for some more hay to snack on.

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Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith (26) lifts the trophy with head coach Steve Sarkisianas the Longhorns celebrate after winning the Citrus Bowl 41-27 against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025. — Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith (26) lifts the trophy with head coach Steve Sarkisianas the Longhorns celebrate after winning the Citrus Bowl 41-27 against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

Bevo and his predecessors have been stomping on the sidelines of Texas games for over 100 years. It might require a few hundred more years and some substantial evolutionary progress before he’s ready to deliver the burnt orange equivalent of the President’s annual State of the Union Address, which took place Tuesday night.

Bevo XV makes his way into Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium during before the start of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M Aggies in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
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Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman

For now, we’ll take on the task for him. Here’s where things stand with the Longhorns in early 2026.

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Where the Texas Longhorns rank nationally

Texas won the Learfield Directors’ Cup — awarded to the best-performing athletic department in the country — for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years in 2025. That’s a remarkable achievement.

How likely are the Longhorns to repeat in 2026?

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MORE: Texas football is spending a lot on its coaches. Why Steve Sarkisian says it’s necessary

It’s tough to predict. Texas didn’t have a great fall, by its standards. The Longhorns rank 31st in the Directors’ Cup standings, with fifth-place, 13th-place and 33rd-place finishes in women’s volleyball, football and men’s cross country finishes marking the only areas where they picked up points.

The good news for Texas is that the fall typically isn’t kind to the Longhorns. Last year, they came out of the autumn ranked 16th.

The winter should be much better. Texas, as usual, has national championship contenders in both men’s and women’s swimming. The Longhorns have an elite women’s basketball team and top-20 teams in men’s and women’s indoor track and field. They can make up some serious ground when results for those sports are tabulated in April.

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We know less about the Longhorns’ outlook in the spring sports, many of which are just getting going, but that has been a source of strength for UT in years past. Last year, North Carolina paced the Directors’ Cup field after the fall and winter events were scored. Texas nearly doubled the Tar Heels’ spring score to chase them down.

How Texas matches up with its in-state rival Texas A&M

Any successful political endeavor requires success in your power base.

Texas’ move to the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 athletic campaign led to the revival of the Lone Star Showdown against local rival Texas A&M. Like the Directors’ Cup, the Lone Star Showdown measures the results of all sports, compiling outcomes of games between the Aggies and Longhorns throughout the academic year.

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MORE: What a hot start for Dylan Volantis, UT pitchers means for Longhorns

Last year, Texas won the Lone Star Showdown over Texas A&M by a final score of 11-7.

This year, the Aggies hold a 5.5-4 lead at the time of publication. Texas A&M has bested the Longhorns in soccer, cross country, volleyball, women’s tennis and men’s basketball, while Texas took home points in football, women’s basketball and swimming and diving.

There are still 9.5 points up for grabs. Half a point is at stake when the men’s basketball teams meet in College Station on Saturday, Two more points can be had this weekend at the SEC indoor track championships, too.

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Texas Longhorns have a down year financially

The campaign funds did not flow as freely for the Longhorns in the 2025 fiscal year.

Texas made a $23.3 million loss, according to financial documents reviewed by the American-Statesman.

The Longhorns attribute most of that to a diminished SEC media rights share — a stipulation Texas agreed to in order to leave the Big 12 for the SEC a year earlier than originally planned. The average SEC school took in $72.4 million in conference distributions in 2025. Texas received just $12.1 million.

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Texas officials say they’re not concerned about their financial position because their agreement with the SEC puts them in line for a full revenue share in the next fiscal year. Rob Novak, the Longhorns’ Chief Financial Officer, said the $23.3 million loss was considered a good financial outcome internally.

And, Novak says, the Longhorns had cash to fall back on. He told the Statesman that the Athletic Department still has over $30 million available in reserve after earning a profit for three consecutive years prior to 2025.

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