Chilly Friday Morning Before A Warm Up Arrives

Conditions are chilly this morning for most locations across northeastern OK with temperatures mostly in the upper 30s and lower 40s.  Afternoon highs will reach the lower and mid-50s today despite the presence of a compact upper level system nearing the state this afternoon with clouds occasionally passing through the area.  This system will encounter a very dry atmosphere in the lower levels with only slight mentions for a few passing showers across southern Oklahoma and north Texas later tonight into early Saturday morning.  The probability for the metro remains near or less than 10% with a few higher chances confined to areas along and south of I-40 into the Red River Valley region.  This system is rather strong but will mostly be moisture starved as it moves across our area during the next 36 hours.  Some clouds tonight may linger across part of the area Saturday morning that would hinder the potential warm-up, but we continue to keep Saturdays highs in the mid to upper 50s with decreasing clouds and south winds near 10 to 15 mph.  A mid-level ridge of high pressure will quickly build across the southern plains bringing warm and pleasant conditions back to the state Sunday through Tuesday.  Morning lows will be in the 30s and 40s with highs reaching the lower to mid-60s Monday into Tuesday.   Very pleasant conditions by December standards. 

 The only change we’re currently making in our forecast compared to the past 7 days will be in the middle of next week.  We’ll bring the daytime high for Tuesday, Christmas Eve, up a few degrees, with highs nearing 66 along with south winds from 15 to 25 mph.  Depending upon cloud cover Tuesday, it’s possible for a few locations to near 70.  The data continues to be inconclusive regarding the exact timeline for Christmas Day, but there should be a weak system nearing with a slight chance for passing shower and possibly a glancing blow of some cooler air Wednesday evening into Thursday.  It does appear the pattern should become active again later next week into the weekend with a system nearing the plains.  Bottom line:  I’ll not make any changes to the Christmas Day forecast and keep our highs in the lower 60s but will mention the possibility of turning cooler by evening with highs dropping into the 50s Thursday. 

Thanks for reading the Friday morning weather discussion and blog.

Have a super great day!

Alan Crone