Gray Days Giving Way to Milder Weather

We awoke to clouds on Saturday and they’ve yet to loosen their grip over much of Green Country. Despite some gloomy weather over the weekend, temperatures are slowly starting to rebound as we head into the new week. In fact, we have seen our last freeze (Friday morning) until sometime around Thanksgiving. The warming trend will continue with little thanks to sunshine in the coming days.

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                Oklahoma finds itself at the battle ground between warm and chilly air, as we often do this time of year. A very progressive (west to east-moving) jet stream allows for a number of storm systems to send frontal boundaries our direction, stall them out nearby, and waffle them north and south. This not only brings day-to-day temperature swings, but quite a bit of cloud cover. That is the reason these clouds are so stubborn. Returning moisture from the Gulf was first drawn north this weekend and it won’t get a big shove out of the area until late this week.

                Starting on Monday, moisture will be racing back northward as southerly winds return. The stratus clouds will be ever-present by Monday afternoon, eventually producing some light drizzle or showers as the lower atmosphere continues to saturate that night.   A midweek storm system will possibly trigger another round of showers for the area. Nothing too heavy is expected, but little sunshine breaks out Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

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                Finally, by the end of the week, a more powerful storm system will sweep a cold front across the state and clear our skies. Depending on its timing, we might end up with a very mild Friday as a warm nose of air punches into the state ahead of the front. Even if the cold front arrives earlier that day, it will be very windy regardless. The dryness of the air also will create high fire danger. We can probably even issue a “blowing leaf alert” (not a real thing) as many of our trees really become stripped of their foliage. Sadly, all good seasonal things must come to an end.  Enjoy the beautiful colors while much of it remains suspended above!

                This weekend kicks off the busy travel season surrounding Thanksgiving. Fortunately, it’s looking quiet by then. Seasonable temperatures (chilly nights and mild days) are expected, boding well for runners in the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa. Thanksgiving Week itself is a bit more up in the air. There have been signs of a powerful cold front drawing Arctic air into the U.S. at this time. However, the computer models are trending further east with that wave. If anything, we’ll get a glancing blow of chilly air early to midweek with a gradual warm-up from Thanksgiving into the holiday weekend. That could certainly change, but the average temperature of those days surrounding Turkey Day is expected to be above normal. Greater certainty lies in the dry pattern for the holiday week as the jet stream pattern does not allow for much returning moisture to the state.

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                Despite the lack of sunlight, we’ll enjoy some nice fall air in the coming week. By Friday, our Vitamin-D deprived bodies can step outdoors and bask in that wonderful sunshine again. Be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and on my Facebook Page for more weather updates! Don’t forget to tune in Thursday night for our official Winter Weather Outlook as well!