Brief Relief from the Heat, Chance of Showers/Storms.

After a relatively mild start to the month of July, yesterday and today are certainly trying to make up for it. In fact, this was the first official triple digit day for Tulsa so far this year. Notice the first map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, which has the high/low temperatures for the day. More importantly though has been the combination of heat/humidity or the heat index and it has maxed out well over 100 as shown on the second map on the right.

Fortunately, some brief relief is headed this way due to a weak frontal boundary that will be moving through the state Tuesday and Tuesday night. Southerly winds ahead of the boundary will keep us quite warm again tonight with mid-upper 70s to start the day Tuesday. Then, as the boundary moves into the state, look for the winds to be shifting to a more northerly component behind the front which will gradually bring some relief from the heat and humidity. It will also bring at least the potential for some showers/storms later Tuesday and through the overnight hours into Wednesday morning.

Daytime highs on Tuesday are a tough call as it will depend on the timing of the wind shift. Folks along the OK/KS state line will likely be in the upper 80s to near 90 whereas the more southern counties may make it to near 100 again before the wind shift arrives.

Wednesday morning should then see low temperatures in the 60s to near 70 so a more comfortable start to the day followed by afternoon temperatures in the 80s to low 90s across this side of the state. The remnants of the boundary will then move back northward with the potential for some showers/storms again late Wed and through the overnight hours.

After that, ridging aloft will once again build over the state which means little or no rainfall, more sunshine, and a return to hot, humid conditions. Heat index values may well exceed triple digits again this coming weekend.

However, the longer range guidance is providing at least some hope for a more significant change for early that following week. Notice the next maps on the right which have the 8-14 day outlooks for temperature and precipitation. There is a rather strong signal suggesting below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation across the state and for that matter much of the country. This is certainly a very anomalous situation and one that will be watched closely in the coming days to see if these trends will verify. If so, then next week could turn out to be very unsettled.

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

Dick Faurot