Records Possible Next Few Days.

And the heat goes on-at least for the month of February.  Notice the maximum temperatures across the state for today, courtesy of the OK Mesonet; mighty warm for this time of year. 

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In fact, if the month has so far seemed to be warmer than normal, that is indeed the case as February to this point is the second warmest on record.  Notice that so far we are ahead of the pace set by what now stands as the warmest February on record which was 1930.  We still have a week to go in the month so it remains to be seen if we will actually beat the 1930 record, but it will certainly be close.

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Speaking of records, the record high for Wednesday is 90.  No, we will not get close to breaking that record but the record on Thursday is certainly possible.  As you can see on our forecast page, we are calling for a high of 82 and the current record for that date is 81. 

For tonight, fair skies and light winds will allow temperatures to cool off nicely with morning lows generally in the low-mid 40s.  There may also be some patchy late night fog, particularly for the more eastern counties.  Look for lots of sunshine Wednesday and with a return to brisk southerly winds, our afternoon highs should reach the upper 70s to near 80.  To put those numbers in perspective, our normal max/min for this time of year is 55/33.

Thursday will be even warmer with a morning low expected to be near what our normal daytime high would be and as mentioned, temperatures that afternoon will have a good shot at breaking the existing record for the date.  Gusty southerly winds and lots of sunshine together with the dormant vegetation will also make for a high fire danger situation during the day.

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A stronger cold front will roll through the state Thursday night but with the surface winds becoming more SW immediately ahead of the front, it will be moisture starved and not likely to produce any rain.  The exception is the far SE counties early Friday morning where a brief, isolated shower may occur. 

Lots of sunshine during the day Friday will offset to a certain extent the brisk northerly winds so temperatures will be noticeably cooler but still above normal.  The coolest day of this forecast cycle will be Saturday when we expect to be at or below freezing to start the day and afternoon temperatures will only be near 50 along with a brisk northerly wind and lots of sunshine.

The cool-down will not last long though as southerly winds return for Sunday and will continue into the early part of next week.  That will bring temperatures back up to much above normal levels once again.  The flow aloft will also bring more cloud cover our way and may set the stage for at least a chance of showers or storms for the Mon/Tue time frame.  But, as you can see on the 7 day QPF, our prospects for any moisture of significance over that time period are not very promising.

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Another, stronger cold front now looks to be heading our way by Wednesday of next week followed by another brief cool-down.  However, the 8-14 day outlook for that first week of March continues to suggest temperatures will average above normal here in Green Country although it is also bringing in some cooler air to our west.  We also look to be on the western fringe of any additional showers during that time period.

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So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot