A rainy Thursday and more clouds on the horizon are prompting Austin City Limits festival ticket holders to dig out their rain boots and jackets – but how will the weekend be impacted?
“Forecast wise, Friday is the main day that I think could be still impacted by rain,” KVUE meteorologist Hunter Williams says, noting that the radar shows the most consistent rain falling before gates open with chances for occasional bursts later on. “As we go into the evening, there certainly still could be scattered showers and even a couple of storms around, but it’s going to be more hit-or-miss compared to what we’ve dealt with on Thursday,” he says.
Little chance of lightning is predicted, Williams reports, but brief downpours are possible Friday evening as headliners take the stage. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning through Friday at 7pm. The broadcast meteorologist expects the sky to be mostly clear for Saturday and Sunday’s lineups, but it won’t be easy to forget about the rain that came before.
“The big question, though, even for Saturday and Sunday, is going to be what type of shape the grass is in,” says Williams. “As of now, radar estimates for Zilker Park show that between an inch-and-a-half and 2 inches of rain have already fallen and we certainly will continue to add to that through the rest of today and tonight. So mud could be a factor, not just for Friday, but potentially beyond that through the end of the weekend.”
The seasoned festival attendee won’t be at Zilker this year, but recommends sturdy, waterproof footwear to those making the trek and notes cooler temperatures ahead. A professional cloud-watcher of sorts, he proves adept in finding silver linings: “The dust has always been so rough for me. I feel like I spend two weeks recovering after going to ACL from all the dust inhalation,” he says, asking: “What’s better to deal with, the mud fest or the dust and the heat?”
Rain delays pushed Friday’s opening back by three hours in 2021, and showers sprinkled attendees in 2014 and 2018, though the most memorable rainfalls in the festival’s history occurred in 2013 – when 4.22 inches of rain resulted in the event’s only weather cancellation – and 2009, when festivalgoers rolled in a particularly pungent mixture of water and fertilized mulch.
Representatives for ACL told the Chronicle that “proactive preparations are already under way in Zilker Park including clearing drains, pre-positioning equipment, and accelerating our set-up schedule to protect the park.”
If you’re slipping on your boots and heading to Zilker, you can sign up for SMS alerts by texting ACL to 64934 or download the ACL Fest Festiverse App to stay up to date on weather conditions – then find all of our must-see acts here.
