Beautiful Fall Weather.

If it seemed a little cool this morning, take a look at the morning lows across the state, courtesy of the OK Mesonet.  For many of us, the last time we were that cool was all the way back on May 19.  The low that morning in Tulsa was 49 and the low this morning was 50. 

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Sunny skies and light winds together with very dry air in place resulted in a nice warm-up this afternoon with daytime highs reaching the 80s.  Notice the maximum temperatures across the state and low-mid 80s were common and even some low 90s in NW OK.  Normal for the Tulsa area on this date is 79/57; the numbers so far today are 83/50 to provide some perspective.

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For tonight, it will not be quite as cool as a light S/SW breeze should persist all night long holding temperatures generally in the 50s to start the day.  Clear skies for the overnight hours will be followed by sunny skies for Wednesday.  However, our winds will be shifting from a SW direction to start the day to northerly by late morning into the afternoon as a cool front pushes from N to S across the state.  The westerly winds ahead of the front are also a down slope wind so temperatures will be moderating quickly during the morning hours and the northerly winds behind the front will re-enforce the mild, dry air currently in place.  As a result, look for daytime highs to make it back to around the 80 degree mark; perhaps a few degrees cooler along the OK/KS state line and a few degrees warmer for the more southern counties.  The very dry air in place will also eliminate any chance of showers; in fact, it is doubtful that we will even see any clouds with this system.

Thursday & Friday will also be sunny, but with the cooler, drier air moving back into the state, morning temperatures should be dropping back into the 40s and daytime highs generally in the 70s.  We will also have light N/NE winds for Thu & Fri making for some mighty fine fall weather as you can see on our forecast page.

Heading into the weekend, temperatures will be gradually moderating as our winds eventually shift to a more SE direction by Sunday.  However, moisture will continue to be very limited so mostly fair skies will be the general rule.  A more southerly wind for early next week will moderate temperatures even more and we will start to see a few clouds in the sky.  But, no significant rainmakers are foreseen for Green Country during this forecast cycle as you can see on the 7 day QPF.  That means temperatures running above normal going into next week along with little or no chance of rain.

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Looking further down the road, the 8-14 day outlook is also suggesting above normal temperatures.  Since normal daytime highs are in the mid 70s by then, the above normal temperatures should translate into perhaps lower 80s.  Even with the expected above normal temperatures, I do not currently anticipate temperatures reaching the 90s.  That is not to say that we are through with 90s for the year as 90s are not at all uncommon during October; just do not see it getting that warm through this forecast cycle.  Also, the 8-14 day outlook does suggest additional chances of moisture as it is trending wetter than normal.

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So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot