Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Here Comes the Rain.

It has been a relatively cool day today as you can see on the max/min temperature map, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. Normal daytime highs at this time of year would be in the upper 60s to near 70 and we were well below that. Friday will be cooler yet due to overcast skies all day long and rain moving in by afternoon and continuing through the overnight hours. That is quite a contrast to much of this month as we are currently averaging more than 2 degrees warmer than normal for October. We are also very dry as we are currently nearly 3” below normal for our October rainfall here in Tulsa.

But, rain is on the way and will be moving in from the west during the early afternoon of Friday and will continue off and on through the overnight hours before gradually tapering off from W to E on Saturday. Cannot rule out a few rumbles of thunder, but for the most part this will be a widespread rain event which means the Friday night football games will be played under very wet conditions. 

As the system moves on eastward, there will be some lingering light showers or drizzle for the Tulsa Run Saturday morning, but the timing now suggests even that will have ended with the possible exception of the far eastern counties by the trick or treat time frame Saturday night. Total amounts of rain again look to be greatest further south as you can see on the 3 day QPF map, but most of us should still end up with an inch or so and possibly a good bit more for some locations.

Clouds will be increasing tonight and overcast skies all day Friday will be followed by a few breaks in the clouds for the more western counties late Saturday. Sunday into early next week now look to have lots of sunshine and a return to southerly winds which means a significant warm-up.

Temperatures on Friday will likely remain in the 50s due to the clouds and rain cooled air after starting off near 40 that morning. Temperatures will hold steady Friday night with 50s to start the day Saturday and if we do get some late afternoon sun then we should see lower 60s for a daytime high. SE winds for Friday through the overnight hours will shift to northerly early Saturday as the system moves on eastward. Light southerly winds return for Sunday becoming rather gusty going into next week along with the warmer temperatures as you can see on our forecast page. 

Another system with the potential for some significant rainfall looks to be headed this way along about the Wed/Thu time frame of next week. There are some significant timing differences from the longer range guidance on this system so for now will just go with chances of rain both days and see how subsequent data runs play out. As you can see on the 8-14 day outlook graphics, there is still no sign of any really cold air coming this way and we continue to see a wetter than normal signal as these periodic storm systems move through.

The last graphic illustrates the impact of the rains that have been received over the last week by the improvement in the drought situation from one week to the next. Quite a contrast; not only for OK but for our neighbors to the south.  Notice, however that the northern counties of OK are getting dry and we will likely miss out on the heavier rains this next storm system will bring.

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

Dick Faurot