Warmer Temps Expected Across Green Country

Today is the finally the day, highs in the afternoon should get at or above freezing. The temperature in Tulsa has been below freezing for around 100 consecutive hours as of this morning. It might seem like a long time but it's nowhere near the record set in December of 1983 where we spent 326 consecutive hours below freezing.  

Weather Alerts

For the rest of today, winds will be breezy out of the northwest around 10 to 20 mph. Temperatures and wind chills this morning are again very cold. Temperatures in teens with minimum wind chills in the single digits and below zero across southeastern Kansas/far northeastern Oklahoma. A lot of kids are going back to school this week. It's important to bundle them up as best you can. They'll need extra layers under their coats, along with hats and gloves. It will be a very cold wait at the bus stop this week, wind chills are expected to drop into the single digits every school-day morning.  

Afternoon temperatures will be in the low to mid 30s. The arctic air mass is moderating and the really cold air moving off to the east. With the northwest winds today, slightly cooler air will settle in for tomorrow. This will just put a pause in the general warming trend we had going. A batch of upper level energy tomorrow will bring some clouds in but should clear out for the most part in the afternoon. Morning temperatures will be in the teens with single digits wind chills, sound familiar? Highs in the afternoon should get into the upper 20s and low 30s with light northeast winds.  

NewsOn6.com Weather Apps

Surface high pressure will be in control for the next couple days keeping our weather quiet. As the surface high shifts east of Friday and the jet stream aloft pushes up to the northeast, temperatures will be able to climb to more seasonable numbers. We will still have a very cold morning on Friday. Lows in the teens with single digit wind chills...again. In the afternoon, you'll notice the change. Highs will be in the low 40s with south winds and sunshine. This will be our true thaw. South winds will continue on Saturday and clouds increasing. Wind speeds should be breezy and highs slightly higher in the mid 40s. Friday and Saturday would be good days to finish taking down Christmas lights or decorations. Be careful on ladders and up on the roof Saturday with the stronger winds. 

WARN Interactive Radar

Rain chances will expand across the area on Sunday. Highs will be warmer near 50 in the afternoon with scattered showers. You might hear some rumbles of thunder, especially in southeastern Oklahoma. We'll watch temperatures closely as the system exits early Monday morning. There's still a very small opportunity that colder air moving could transition rain into wintry precipitation. IF that happens, it would most likely in northwestern Arkansas and maybe far southeastern Oklahoma. We will continue to bring you updates as we get new weather data.  

A lot of area ponds and bodies of water have ice on them right now, from our deep freeze we've been having. Dick Faurot sent us a picture of the ice on his pond south of Tulsa. We want to remind you that ice has to be 4" thick to be safe to walk on. If ice is not 4" thick, stay off. The Tulsa Fire Department sent out a tweet yesterday reminding folks. Do not let kids play on the ice unless it has been checked. If you outside pets, make sure they have a warm shelter. These cold nights will continue this week. 

Stay warm and stay safe!