Climate & Environment

Austin is located on the Colorado River where the stream crosses the Balcones escarpment separating the Texas Hill Country from the Blackland Prairies to the east. Within the City of Austin, elevations range from 400 to 1,000 feet above sea level. The climate is classified as "humid subtropical" with hot summers and mild winters. Freezing temperatures occur only about 25 days per year. Cold spells are short and seldom last more than two days. While summer days are hot, summer nights are usually pleasant. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year.

Climate Normals

Temperature

  Minimum Average Maximum
January 41.5°F 5.3°C 51.5°F 10.8°C 61.5°F 16.4°C
April 58.6°F 14.8°C 69.2°F 20.7°C 79.8°F 26.6°C
July 74.4°F 23.6°C 85.0°F 29.4°C 95.6°F 35.3°C
October 60.6°F 15.9°C 71.2°F 21.8°C 81.8°F 27.7°C
Year 58.9°F 14.9°C 69.3°F 20.7°C 79.7°F 26.5°C

Other Measures

Annual days with a maximum >=90°F (32°C) 111.1
Annual days with a minimum <32°F (0°C) 12
Annual precipitation: 34.32 in. 87.17 cm
Annual snowfall: 0.6 in. 1.5 cm
Annual avg. wind speed: 6.9 mph 11.1 kph
Annual rel. humidity: 68%

Source: U.S. National Climatic Data Center, 2013 Local Climatological Data Annual Summary.

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Attainment Status

The Austin region has a history of proactive air quality initiatives. The five-county region has successfully completedvoluntary air quality improvement initiatives to address the 8-hour ozone standard. Through these initiatives, the region implemented emission reduction measures sufficient to keep the region in compliance of federal ozone standards despite a growth rate that far exceeds the national average.

The region is participating in the EPA's Ozone Advance Program including the Action Plan to keep Central Texas' air clean. This is the next generation of proactive, voluntary air quality initiatives, designed to the region in attainment of current and future ozone standards.

Since 1993, the CLEAN AIR Force of Central Texas (CAF), a coalition of business, government, environmental and community leaders, has coordinated public awareness and education campaigns. CAF outreach has provided a solid base of public understanding of air quality issues in the Austin region.

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