During winter, the area is alternately influenced by a continental regime, with winds from the north and west, and by a modified maritime regime, with south and southeast winds from the Gulf of Mexico. Mild weather prevails during most of the winter. Sub-freezing temperatures occur on average about 19 days each year. North winds with strong cold fronts block any moderating affects from the Gulf of Mexico, and occasionally usher in frigid conditions to central Texas. The coldest low was -2 on January 31, 1949. Although daytime highs are restrained in cloudy winters, overnight lows can be potentially higher, sometimes sparring the area from the much colder minimums that come under clear skies. In these patterns, the coolest monthly average temperatures may follow, because daytime highs are limited by the cloud cover. On sunny winter days, the temperature warms to pleasant levels, while nights are cooler. In these regimes, with colder than normal nights, the average temperature can be close to normal, because the sun moves daytime highs to much above normal. Very warm days occur when dry west winds in a mild air mass allow winter temperatures to climb to spring or summer-like levels, such as  99 degrees on February 21, 1996 as Prince Charles visited the Capital.

Daytime temperatures in summer are hot, with highs over 90 about 95 percent of the time.  In very hot summers, the continental regime of West and North Texas can have an impact of keeping daytime highs near and above 100, especially with hot west and southwest winds. Most of the time, the moderating affects of the Gulf of Mexico limit daytime highs; however, they also add to the discomfort with higher humidity. Sometimes, when weak fronts that have lost most of their cool air properties move through the area, warmer than normal daytime highs follow, as the area is blocked from the moderating affects of the Gulf of Mexico. This occured on September 5, 2000, when the highest temperature ever recorded reached 112,  smashing the previous record of 109.