Mild, Another Chance of Showers/Storms.

Patchy fog early this morning has been slower to burn off than originally thought and has left us with some stratus through much of the morning. That will be burning off as well but the combination of the morning stratus deck and NE winds will keep temperatures quite mild through the afternoon hours. Although we should have a good bit of sunshine by this afternoon, daytime highs will only be in the low-mid 80s which is about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year. Not only that, but this will be 20 degrees or more below where we were at this time last year and the year before that.

Our day has also started off much milder than the last few years as the low temperature map on the right shows, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. Morning lows in the 60s are also expected again Sunday morning so enjoy these mild temperatures while they last. The NE winds of today will be more from the E/SE Sunday and back to a southerly direction on Monday so our nights will be getting warmer with low 70s for early next week.

Our days will also be getting warmer, but it will be a rather gradual warm-up as cloud cover and abundant moisture will temper the daytime highs. We should be in the upper 80s Monday, near 90 by Tuesday and in the 90s for the rest of the week. But, we do not see a return to triple digit heat anytime soon.

There will also be another round of showers/storms with the potential for locally heavy rainfall once again. The QPF map on the right is valid through this coming Thursday morning and shows a tight N-S gradient of potential precipitation. Right now, the pattern certainly suggests most of the rain and the heaviest rainfall will be concentrated along the OK/KS state line or perhaps further north into KS. However, that could easily shift a little further N or S so we will carry chances of showers/storms in the forecast through at least the middle of the coming week.

There could be a few showers/storms along the OK/KS state line by early Sunday morning, but better chances are expected from Sunday night through the day Monday. Again, there will be a rather sharp N-S gradient in the rainfall chances with the chances dropping off rather quickly south of Hwy 412. Right now, the severe threat appears to be rather low.

Brisk southerly winds for Monday will be shifting back to a northerly direction Tuesday as another weak boundary makes a run at us. That should keep us with a NE to E wind for Wed & Thu along with at least slight chances of showers/storms. A return to southerly winds and a gradual warm up will then get us into the coming weekend. However, the extensive rainfall of this past week has the effect of tempering the warm-up considerably and the pattern aloft currently suggests yet another boundary and a chance of rain may arrive before next weekend is over. Thus, no triple digit heat is expected anytime soon.

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

Dick Faurot