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A powerful cold front that swept through South-Central Texas overnight brought damaging winds, dangerous fire conditions and scattered power outages to the San Antonio area.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory overnight as the front moved through the region, while a Red Flag Warning remains in effect due to extremely dry air and gusty winds.
Meteorologist Monte Oaks with the National Weather Service said the system produced powerful gusts across South-Central Texas.
Cold & windy early today with a colder night tonight. A light freeze is possible for some areas. Warning resumes by Wednesday and well above normal temperatures return Friday into the weekend. Sadly no rain in the forecast this week. pic.twitter.com/ish46CJouq
— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) March 16, 2026
“The local storm reports we have been putting out were several parts across the South Central Texas area that had basically 50 to 60 mile an hour winds. And there was a couple of places that were even greater than 60 miles an hour,” Oaks said.
Those winds caused scattered outages across San Antonio late Sunday night, according to CPS Energy. The municipally-owned utility said crews were still working to restore power to scattered outages Monday morning.
OUTAGE UPDATE (6:13 AM) Our dedicated crews have been working throughout the night to restore power to customers as a result of yesterday's cold front that brought strong winds.
— CPS Energy (@cpsenergy) March 16, 2026
At time of this update, there are 69 weather-related outages impacting approximately 3,371 customers,… pic.twitter.com/Kd4wXRCc78
Oaks said the worst of the winds has passed, though breezy conditions will continue into the afternoon before gradually easing later in the day.
Temperatures dropped quickly behind the front after unseasonably hot conditions Sunday afternoon, when parts of South-Central Texas climbed into the mid-90s.
Wind chills early Monday morning fell into the 30s in parts of the region.
Oaks said the dry air and clear skies behind the front could allow temperatures to drop further overnight in some areas.
“Temperatures will plummet rather rapidly. And so there will be, typically, when you have a light wind and a mostly clear sky, you're going to see a lot of valleys will cool rather efficiently. And with the air being as dry as it is, we probably will see at least some light freezes,” he said.
Despite cooler temperatures, fire danger remains elevated across South-Central Texas because of dry conditions and lingering winds.
The National Weather Service is urging residents to avoid outdoor burning and use caution with any activity that could produce sparks. Officials say even small sparks — from equipment, vehicles or outdoor burning — could quickly ignite fires in these conditions.
