Light Rain and a Hard Freeze Ahead

We’ve held off a freeze so far this season, but the days of our growing season are now numbered. An early season Arctic Blast is coming to Oklahoma. Not only is a hard freeze on tap for Tulsa, but we won’t be far off from a record low. Before the cold though comes the wet.

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Periods of drizzle and light rain are likely on Thursday as an upper-level wave of energy passes over Oklahoma. Nothing heavy is anticipated with the steadiest of the rain to fall in the afternoon for Green Country. It’ll be a chilly, raw day with a gusty north wind - not exactly the kind of day you’d like to find yourself outdoors for long. Colder air will continue to seep southward Thursday night and might allow for a brief transition to sleet or snowflakes along the Oklahoma-Kansas line! Can you believe our highs were in the 80s just a month ago?  Below is our rain chance timeline.

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While most of us will avoid true wintry weather, a true winter chill will arrive by Friday night. Arctic air will continue its southward trek sending our readings below the freezing mark as early as Friday evening for those high school playoff football games. By Saturday morning, a hard (28 °) to killing (24 °) is likely. How’s that for a first freeze? Our record low of 21° could even be challenged! Needless to say, our 208-day growing season will come to an official end. Below is our freeze outlook for Friday night.

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Bedlam Saturday will shape up to be cool, breezy and (fortunately) dry. A second cold surge will arrive Sunday night into Monday. This could even be colder than the first based on some of our computer models. While our forecast calls for a chilly rain during this stretch, a little bit of snow could potentially fall nearby as well.  This taste of December will fade away by the middle of next week as temperatures return to more seasonable readings.  There are no major storm systems showing up so far leading up to Thanksgiving, but you can never be too certain during this typically volatile time of year. Below is our temperature trend going into next week showing the major departure from average.

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If you love our fall foliage, which is peaking at the moment, you better soak it up in the next few days. The combination of rain, several windy days and a hard freeze will do a lot to speed up the de-leafing process on our trees. By this time next week, many of our trees will be showing that winter barrenness. The good news? Christmas is now less than 7 weeks away!

For more weather updates, be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and on my Facebook Page!