Ring in 2026: Austin’s New Year’s Eve Celebration
Austin is ready to welcome 2026 with its annual New Year’s Eve celebration at Auditorium Shores, offering residents and visitors a free, family-friendly way to bid farewell to 2025.
The festivities begin at 7 p.m. and run until midnight, featuring live music from The Head and the Heart, along with local artists including Chaparelle, Tameca Jones, and The Point. The evening will culminate with a drone show at 11:45 PM followed by a midnight fireworks display over Lady Bird Lake.
Food trucks will be on site throughout the evening, and attendees are welcome to bring blankets or collapsible chairs. Free CapMetro rides will be available after 5 p.m., with rail service running until 2:30 a.m. on January 1st, making it easy to get home safely.
How To Get There
Enhanced Law Enforcement Presence
As revelers celebrate, law enforcement agencies across Central Texas will be out in force. From December 31 through January 3, DPS troopers will be patrolling roadways looking for drunk drivers, speeders, and seat belt violators. The Austin Police Department has also increased traffic and DWI enforcement through January 1st, with officers focusing on highways and high-speed roadways.
As we look ahead towards #NewYears, @TxDPS reminds Texans that our annual #holiday traffic enforcement initiative runs through Jan. 1. Troopers will be out in force — patrolling the roadways and looking for drivers who are violating the law.
— Texas DPS (@TxDPS) December 30, 2025
Please do your part to celebrate the… pic.twitter.com/vLg0ZLLRR1
Central Texas departments are bringing in additional resources, with day shift officers trained in DWI enforcement working night shifts as well. Police are urging celebrants to designate a sober driver or use rideshare services like Uber and Lyft. Austin and Manor operate under “no refusal” policies, meaning officers will obtain warrants for blood samples if drivers refuse breath tests.
Fireworks Regulations
Before lighting your own fireworks, know the rules.
Possessing or using fireworks within the City of Austin is illegal without a permit for a professional display, though sparklers and hand-held novelties are permitted on private property. In unincorporated Travis County, fireworks are generally allowed but cannot be used on public roadways, school property, or within 600 feet of churches, licensed child-care centers, hospitals, or schools without written permission. They’re also prohibited in all Travis County parks.
A burn ban is currently in effect for unincorporated Travis County through January 6th due to freeze-cured grass that can ignite easily.
Officials strongly encourage residents to skip personal fireworks and enjoy the professional display downtown instead.
Weather Outlook
Tonight’s weather looks favorable for outdoor celebrations, with a high of 70°F and a low of 45°F. It’s a pleasant evening for Austin’s winter season, so dress in layers and prepare for cooler temperatures as midnight approaches. The mild conditions should make for comfortable viewing of the fireworks spectacular over Lady Bird Lake.
The city of Austin provided overnight lodging for the city’s population needing a warm place to stay while temperatures dipped below freezing last night into this morning.
People began lining up at One Texas Center yesterday afternoon to register for a spot in an overnight shelter.
Overnight low temperatures tonight are expected to be in the 40s thus it is unlikely that the city shelters will reopen again.
A Texas appeals court has overturned the historic conviction of former Austin police officer Christopher Taylor and ordered him acquitted on felony deadly conduct charges stemming from a 2019 on-duty shooting.
The Austin Police Association issued a statement after the court’s ruling.
One person was arrested by a SWAT team in Pflugerville Tuesday following a domestic disturbance that resulted in a person trapped inside a residence.
The Kyle Police Department says several people were arrested, and drugs seized, after unrelated traffic stops over the Christmas holiday weekend.
Police in Florence caught up with a fugitive from justice.
Austin police are looking for two men involved in a fight over the weekend outside a bar on East 6th Street.
The APD is mourning the loss of one of its own.
It is with great sadness we share about the sudden passing of Austin Police (APD) Patrol K9 “Jax”.
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) December 30, 2025
Jax, an Eastern European native Belgian Malinois, began his training with his partner Senior Police Officer (SPO) Wagner, in August of 2016. Over more than nine years of service,… pic.twitter.com/SnmZ5b1zO4
The Austin Police Department is making changes on how its officer handle alleged hate-related incidents after a group of Muslims say they were targeted.
Two men have been arrested in the burglaries of area restaurants back in July. Police got a break in the case thanks to a pair of sneakers one of the suspects was wearing. (KXAN-TV)
Reporte Austin keeping track of ICE activity in the ATX.
Tuesday, it was Interstate 35 between Riverside and Woodland.
Williamson County commissioners have renewed a 911 dispatch diversion agreement aimed at helping first responders’ handling of mental health-related calls in Tuesday’s court meeting.
An elementary school in South Austin caught fire early this morning.
A fire was reported around Parmer Lane and IH35 Tuesday night.
The Austin Firefighters Association took to social media Tuesday to remind residents that the work of Austin firefighters doesn’t pause for the holidays.
Officials in Blanco County believe recent brush fires in the southwestern portion of the county may have been intentionally lit.
Blanco County ESD 2 fire crews have responded to multiple vegetation fires recently. (KVUE-TV)
Travis County officials remind residents they can have their Christmas trees recycled.
Mustang Ridge authorities responded to the intersection of SH 130 Service Rd. and 183 northbound Tuesday for a multi-vehicle crash that injured one person.
Residents of Central Austin’s Travis Heights neighborhood who struggle with weak water pressure may soon get relief — but not without a long stretch of construction that could snarl traffic through 2027. Austin Water’s $4.6 million plan shifts Travis Heights to a higher pressure zone with valves to stabilize flow, but it’s a task that will take more than a year to complete. (Austin American-Statesman)
WEATHER
TUESDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
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5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
West Texas saw its first wintry precipitation yesterday resulting in some icy roads.
Parts of South Texas, specifically the El Paso area, had a Winter Weather Advisory in effect, but El Paso and Hudspeth counties were removed from the advisory.
A body and a gun have been found in the search for Camila Mendoza Olmos, a 19-year-old who went missing after leaving her home in Bexar County on Christmas Eve.
A single-engine plane crashed near Cherry Spring, north of Fredericksburg Tuesday afternoon, killing one person.
The son of a McKinney city manager and his wife may face charges in their deaths.
Two young brothers died and their father was injured in a house fire Tuesday morning in Waskom in East Texas.
Millions of dollars in federal funding is set to expire next year for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. There are five 988 call centers in Texas. (Texas Standard)
Cases of influenza are spiking in Texas.
The most significant measles outbreak in more than 30 years began in early 2025 in Gaines County, a West Texas region where almost one in four residents does not have the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton does not have the authority to enforce a new rule that would compel district attorneys in the state’s most populous areas to share prosecutorial data with the state’s top lawyer, a state appeals court ruled on Tuesday. (Texas Tribune)
The Dallas County Republican Party announced on Tuesday it has decided not to hand-count thousands of ballots in the March 3 primary, opting instead to contract with the county elections department to administer the election using voting equipment. (Dallas Morning News)
Texas could lose as many as 17 members of Congress next year. What does that mean for the Lone Star State in terms of clout?
The clock is ticking as federal funding for the 988 Crisis Lifeline expires next year.
Distractions are everywhere. “Indistractable” author Nir Eyal offers strategies for focusing on what matters to you.
And as we wrap up our birthday celebration marking 10 years, we’ll take a look back at our favorite animal stories – from remarkable dogs and cats to fascinating wildlife.
(Episode from December 30, 2025)
As of New Year’s Day on Thursday, SB-8 takes effect, requiring Texas sheriff’s offices with jails to enter into immigration enforcement partnership agreements with ICE.
Also Thursday, if you rent your home, your rights against your landlord have been eroded by SB-38.
Blocked at the moment by a federal judge, SB-2420 – a law designed to require app developers to accommodate younger users – will not begin as scheduled on Thursday.
Plus, Progress Texas’ five most popular podcasts of 2025.
(Episode from December 30, 2025)
State officials are launching a new way for Texans to invest in precious metals: Texas-themed gold and silver coins.
SPORTS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: It may not be the big game they were working for all season, but the Texas Longhorns are in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and today they face the Michigan Wolverines in Orlando to conclude the 2025 season.
Tickets for the game, a Top 25 matchup, are still available, with prices as low as $60 on StubHub and $50 on SeatGeek. (CBS Austin)
It ain’t easy being cheesy…unless you’re at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
San Antonio hosted the Alamo Bowl yesterday.
NFL: The Dallas Cowboys on Thursday waived CB Trevon Diggs.
NBA: No games last night for Dallas, Houston or San Antonio but the Spurs host the New York Knicks tonight while the Mavericks and Rockets have another night off.
NHL: After a couple days off, the Dallas Stars are back on the ice tonight hosting Buffalo.
Let’s end 2025 on a positive note.
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