Sunlight at the End of the Cloudy Tunnel

We are wrapping up one of the cloudiest and wettest Thanksgiving weekends in Tulsa history. I’m not sure if it was the lack of sunshine, that intrusive damp coldness or the countless spells of rain that got to more people, but the good news is that this dreary weather is about to come to an end. We’ve got one more day under the cold, cloudy blanket before sunshine returns to Green Country.

                Looking back at the past 4 days, it’s remarkable how much rain has fallen. The attached rainfall map shows anywhere from 4” to nearly 9” of rain fell in the eastern part of the state. The tiny of community of Unger near Hugo in southeast Oklahoma reported the highest daily rainfall total in November history for Oklahoma. That amount was over 8”!  Flooding was a concern, but fortunately, most of the rain was spread out enough in time that mainly ponding on roadways was common. River and stream flooding has occurred from the Poteau and Illinois rivers to the Neosho River near Miami.  Lake levels even rose by at least a few feet at all of our reservoirs.  The perpetually low Skiatook Lake even rose to a normal level in this event!

                Aside from a minor glaze on elevated surfaces in Pawnee and Osage counties, Green Country was spared the ice, albeit by only a degree or two in some cases. Places just west of Oklahoma City like El Reno ended up with over an inch of ice, damaging nearly all trees and causing tens of thousands to lose power. I’ve attached a photo of the ice damage from my uncle in Yukon.

                The final wave of this system will push through by Monday morning, allowing drier air to finally arrive. Clouds will be slow to erode during the day Monday, but westerly winds will usher in much-appreciated change.  That night into Tuesday morning, the skies will clear and temperatures will rebound to seasonable levels (in the 50s!) After such a warm fall, it’s hard to believe we’d consider the 50s so mild, but this storm system really was a turning point. This active jet stream pattern will keep most of our temperatures from warming too greatly due to the frequency of storm systems we’re expecting into the cold season.

                Fortunately, we get a much-needed break from active weather this week. Tuesday through Friday, our skies will be mostly sunny. The nights will be a touch cooler, dipping to around freezing. However, the days will be nice and mild as we approach 60° by Friday afternoon! Clouds do return next weekend, but that approaching storm system won’t be tapping into the same kind of moisture we had this past weekend.  It’ll likely push through the region in a day or two without much ado.

                Further down the road, a warmer than normal pattern likely sets up for the Lower 48 as Arctic air is held back into Canada. It doesn’t mean Oklahoma will be warmer, but 50s by mid-December is certainly considered warmer than normal. I don’t see any significant chance of snow in the immediate future, but we certainly can’t rule out the possibility with almost any storm system from this point forward. Freezing temperatures are never far away at this point.

                Be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and like my page on Facebook!