Increasing Rain Chances Going Into the Weekend.

From the rainfall map across the state for today, it is apparent that only the far SE counties received any moisture despite more cloud cover for much of the day.  Same story is expected again on Thursday although the moisture will be trending further northward during the day so there will be at least a slight chance from hwy 412 southward and better chances along and south of I-40.

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The clouds and what few showers there were also had an impact on temperatures as is obvious from the max/min temperature map for today.  Keep in mind that 94/72 is normal for this time of year in Tulsa so anytime we can be below that is usually a good thing.  Notice also, that the more rural locations were cooler this morning with 60s common, but even those locations were a bit warmer than yesterday morning.

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That trend should continue tonight as we will keep a light southerly breeze overnight under fair to partly cloudy skies.  Some patchy fog and/or low clouds will be possible again Thursday morning along with temperatures in the upper 60s outlying areas and low 70s urban environment.

Partly cloudy to at times mostly cloudy skies during the day along with continued southerly winds will result in somewhat higher humidity levels along with daytime highs in the upper 80s to near 90 for most of us.  Again, the more southern counties will have thicker clouds and better rain chances so lower 80s likely down there.  Heat index values will still be tolerable with dew point temperatures holding in the upper 60s to low 70s, which should add another 5-8 degrees to what it feels like.  Still, nothing like what we experienced last week for example.

Friday will see a better chance of showers and storms as the moisture deepens somewhat and the mostly cloudy skies should keep us in the 70s that morning and the 80s that afternoon.  The best chance of rain now appears to be late Friday through the overnight hours and into Saturday morning.  That will be in advance of and associated with a cool front that is now progged to come through much earlier than was the case with the data runs yesterday.  Current data runs now push the front through Saturday morning.  With that in mind, we should see an end to any lingering showers/storms by noon Saturday at the latest along with clearing skies that afternoon and fair to partly cloudy skies for Sunday.  QPF values are now trending lower for much of the area, but there still remains the potential for some decent rainfall for many locations.

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The northerly winds behind the front will also bring drier, milder air back over the state and overnight lows back into the lower 60s look likely for the morning hours of Sunday and Monday.  Daytime highs will remain in the 80s so most of the weekend is now looking pretty pleasant.

However, the flow aloft will support another system coming this way early next week so increasing clouds on Monday could result in a few showers and a better chance looks to occur on Tuesday as you can see on our forecast page.  Temperatures will also be warming up going into the middle of next week as our winds return to a southerly direction.

But, looking further ahead, the 8-14 day outlook continues to suggest temperatures averaging below normal and precipitation chances above normal.  That would strongly suggest no additional triple digit temperatures nor triple digit heat index values for the rest of August. 

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So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot