Another Heat Advisory/Warning Thursday, But Some Relief Is In Sight.

Those showers that moved through this morning dropped some brief rains for some locations, but most of us wound up with little more than a sprinkle.  Notice the rainfall map for today, courtesy of the OK Mesonet.  Those rains in the more NE counties also helped keep the dew point from mixing out despite a rather breezy south to sw wind today.  Wind speeds topped out near 30 mph in many locations, but the dew point temperatures held pretty steady.

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As a result, our maximum heat index values for today topped out around the 110-112 mark which is pretty miserable. 

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Compare that to the max/min temperatures for today and you can see the effect the humidity has on the human body adds another 10-15 degrees to what it feels like.  For example, here in Tulsa the temperature topped out at 97 but the heat index topped out at 112.  By the way, 92 is normal for this time of year.  Also, keep in mind that the air temperature is measured in the shade so when you are in direct sunlight you can add another 15 degrees or so to what your body is fighting against.

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As was the case last night, another complex of storms is forming way out west and will be moving eastward overnight.  However, so far the trends all suggest that complex will fall apart before it reaches Green Country with little more than a sprinkle or two along the I-35 corridor by morning.

So, after some early morning left over clouds, we should have plenty of sunshine for the rest of the day together with gusty southerly winds for another hot, humid day.  Once again, the good folks at the NWS office have issued excessive heat warnings for much of the area on Thursday as heat index values will exceed 105 for the afternoon into the early evening hours.  By the way, those gusty southerly winds will also keep us from cooling much overnight with morning lows in the low 80s urban areas and mid-upper 70s rural locations.

After that, as you can see on our forecast page, we do start ramping up the rain chances at least somewhat starting on Friday and through the coming weekend.  In fact, the zonal or west to east flow aloft suggests we will remain on the southern fringe of the main storm track into next week so some occasional systems could spread at least a few showers/storms our way through this forecast cycle.  Right now, nothing widespread or organized is foreseen, but the potential is there for some folks to get a good soaking as you can see on the 7 day QPF map.

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The extra cloud cover should also knock at least a few degrees off our daytime temperatures through the weekend, but above normal temperatures will be the general rule during the day as well as at night.  Exception, of course, will be those who are impacted by any rain cooled air in the days ahead.

Looking further down the road, the long range guidance continues to suggest above normal temperatures along with only scattered showers/storms for the 8-14 day time frame.  That means little relief from the heat and humidity.  That would suggest our soils will start to dry out which will eventually result in some triple digit air temperatures.

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So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot