Unsettled Pattern Next Few Days, Then Turning Colder.

A frontal boundary will be meandering around the state for the rest of the day today, tonight, and much of the day Tuesday.  Very shallow, but much cooler air behind the boundary will have a great deal of difficulty in moving much further southward into the hills of SE OK.  In fact, it is expected to mix out completely Wednesday as a strong low pressure system develops to the west in advance of a strong disturbance aloft.  That system will then push on eastward dragging a stronger cold front through the state for Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

With the boundary in the immediate area and the cloudy to mostly cloudy skies, temperatures will generally be in the 60s during the day behind the front and in the 70s to near 80 ahead of the front.  N to NE winds behind the front and S to SE winds will prevail ahead of the boundary.  This will be the setup through Tuesday, but as the front mixes out on Wednesday, gusty southerly winds will be the general rule Wednesday pushing temperatures well into the 70s to near 80 area-wide. 

Gusty NW winds behind the cold front for Thursday will put us on another roller coaster ride regarding temperatures as we will start the day much warmer than it will end.  In fact, most locations should end the day in the 40s.  That will be followed by another potentially frosty start for Friday and Saturday mornings when morning lows will be in the 30s and daytime highs only in the 50s to lower 60s.  The weekend will see some moderation, but it will still be cooler than normal.

This boundary bouncing around the area also means a chance for showers/storms, some of which will likely be severe.  The main threat should be wind/hail for later in the day today and perhaps early tonight and much the same for Tuesday.  However, the stronger dynamics will also make Wednesday more interesting, particularly late in the day and that night as the cold front moves across the state.  A more significant threat of severe weather is currently expected during that time frame. 

Also, as the map on the right shows, there will be the potential for another round of significant rainfall to put another big dent in the drought.  Only problem is that the more western counties will likely miss out on the more generous rains, but hopefully they will get at least some.

 In the meantime, stay tuned and check back for updates.

 Dick Faurot