Monday forecast for Austin: Happy winter solstice! Although meteorologists already marked the beginning of winter on Dec. 1, astronomers start the clock on the season with the winter solstice, the day the planet s northern hemisphere is tilted farthest away from the sun.
The Austin area can expect plenty of sunshine that will help drive daytime temperatures to an unseasonably warm 71 degrees, which is about 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.
In the evening, skies will become cloudier as temperatures retreat to an overnight low of around 44.
The weather service s extended outlook calls for another day of mild conditions on Tuesday before a cold front Wednesday night delivers blustery winds and a double-digit drop in temperatures.
Austin police have identified a driver who was killed earlier this month after he veered into a construction zone and struck at least four workers.
According to a preliminary police investigation, 27-year-old Mario Eduardo Martinez-Buenrostro was driving south on MoPac Boulevard in a Honda Accord on Dec. 1, when he lost control of the vehicle. The Honda veered into the outside lane of traffic and into a construction zone where several workers were struck, police said in a written statement Wednesday. The crew was attempting to repair a guardrail at the time of the crash and had an attenuator along the shoulder and several working light boards to alert drivers to the crew’s presence.
Austin police have identified a pedestrian who was killed earlier this month while crossing the street to catch a bus as 49-year-old Nestor Phillip Yruegas.
According to a preliminary police investigation, Yruegas was crossing in the middle of the 3400 block of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to catch the bus on nearby Airport Boulevard just before 5:50 a.m. on Dec. 2.
But he was struck by the driver of a gray Kia Sportage, police said, and Yruegas who was two weeks away from his 50th birthday died at the scene.
The driver of the Sportage remained at the scene as police responded, and no charges are expected, police said.