Excessive Heat Warning And Advisories Continue For Oklahoma

Heat advisories and heat warnings will now remain in place across eastern OK through at least Friday.   Heat index values from 105 to 115 will be possible as daytime highs move to near 100 and overnight lows in the metro stay near 80.  Temperatures will be slightly lower across the rural areas of eastern OK, but heat index values will remain extremely high.  

Weather Alerts

A weak “back door” front will near far eastern OK Saturday.  This may lower the temps a few degrees with some minor relief, yet humidity values may still be rather high for most of the weekend.   A few isolated pop up storms will be possible this weekend across far eastern OK and western Arkansas but most locations will miss out on the storms.   We’re tracking a few early morning leftovers from last night’s isolated storms that developed across southern Kansas and north central OK.   These will be gone by the time most folks read this discussion.

Miserable heat conditions were observed yesterday across eastern OK with the Tulsa metro experiencing heat index values from 110 to 112.   The Mesonet site in Bixby recorded a heat index of 117 yesterday afternoon.  Ouch. 

Our friends at the National Weather Service have “upgraded” the heat advisory to a heat warning due to the very high heat index and the overnight lows staying from 78 to 80.    Here’s part of their statement regarding the heat warning:

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF

DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT

TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS

SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY. DRINK PLENTY OF

FLUIDS...STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM...STAY OUT OF THE SUN...

AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

Stay Connected With The News On 6

A mid-level ridge of high pressure will continue to build across the area.  Temperatures at the surface will be near 100 today and Friday before the ridge begins to shift slightly west.   A weak front will move across the Missouri Valley into Western Arkansas late Saturday night.   Most data support slightly lower dew points arriving Sunday and then a more noticeable reduction Monday and Tuesday of next week.   Temperatures around the 5k Ft level should also drop a few degrees Sunday into early next week.   We’ll need to keep the communication consistent for most of the weekend regarding the excessive and oppressive heat as the slightly drier air mass may not offer any real relief until next week.  There’s even a process by which the dew points and humidity would cause very high heat index numbers directly ahead of the front (far eastern OK) Saturday.   Heat products will continue through Friday, and now may still be needed Saturday for part of the area.

Some data support a front nearing the northern OK area Wednesday with a few storms possible, but the ridge may still be too strong for anything other than a few isolated storms.  

WARN Interactive Radar

Thanks for reading the Thursday morning weather discussion and blog.

Have a super but safe day and remain hydrated. 

Alan Crone