Hot & Humid Thursday, Chance Storms Friday.

Just time for a quick update this evening.  As expected, the heat and humidity was more of an issue today with maximum heat index values well into the 90s as you can see, courtesy of the good folks at the OK Mesonet. 

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Actual air temperatures ranged from the upper 80s here in E OK to some triple digits in the Panhandle.  For Tulsa, the max/min today has been 92/73 as compared to the normal values of 91/71.   Also the maximum heat index was 98 this afternoon.

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Those warmer nights will persist for at least several more days due to brisk southerly winds again on Thursday and dew point temperatures holding in the upper 60s to low 70s.  Generally fair overnight skies but a brisk south breeze should result in morning lows in the low-mid 70s to start the day tomorrow.  Gusty southerly winds of 30 mph or more again during the day together with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies will push afternoon temperatures into the low-mid 90s, but heat index values will likely be near triple digits.

Still looks like a frontal boundary will arrive during the day Friday and that still has the potential for some widespread showers and storms, some of which may be severe.  The most likely time now looks to be late in the day and into the overnight hours.  The boundary itself will likely stall out to our south on Saturday and then retreat back to the north on Sunday.  That will keep at least a chance of showers/storms for Saturday and into the day Sunday.  After that, the pattern aloft suggests a weakness will persist in our general area so at least a slight chance of scattered showers/storms may extend into the early part of next week, including the Fourth of July itself.  Notice the 7 day QPF is still painting a very wet picture for much of the area.  Keep in mind, that represents an areal average and some locations may end up with more while others end up with much less.  We certainly need the rain.

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The extra cloud cover together with the chances of showers/storms will also knock temperatures down a few notches as you can see on our forecast page.  Not for long though as the heat and humidity will be building back over us by early next week.  Notice the longer range guidance continues to suggest warmer than normal temperatures and at best only scattered showers/storms during the 8-14 day time frame.

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So, thanks for reading the blog and stay tuned for updates.

Dick Faurot