Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Record Warmth Possible Next Few Days

So far, the month of December is running more than 4 degrees warmer than normal, and that number will continue to go up over the next several days.

Notice the max/min temperature map for today, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, and keep in mind a normal daytime high would be near the 50 degree mark. In fact, records have been set today in OKC, and more records across the state will be threatened over the next several days; not only during the day but also at night with the potential for record warm overnight lows.

The last time we were this warm to start the month of December was in 2001; but we are still a far cry from the warmest start to the month which dates all the way back to 1939.

At any rate, look for fair skies and light southerly winds tonight and temperatures only falling into the 40s to start the day Thursday. Just some high-level cirrus clouds along with light southerly winds should push most of us back to near the 70 degree mark, which will be just a little short of the record for tomorrow.

As you can see on our forecast page, Friday and Saturday mornings may set records for warmest morning lows as we expect to be in the 50s Friday morning and 50s to near 60 Saturday morning. That is warmer than our normal daytime highs are for this time of year!

More cloud cover during each of those days may keep us a little short of setting records for daytime highs, but both days still look to be around the 70 degree mark, and, if we should get some breaks in the cloud cover, we could even reach the mid-70s.

Gusty southerly winds will also bring abundant moisture back our way and therefore the mostly cloudy skies, but also increasing our chances of rain.

These warm, humid, windy conditions are in advance of a strong storm system aloft which will be moving our way this weekend. The surface cold front looks to be pushing across the state late Saturday and not reaching Green Country till the overnight hours or early Sunday morning.

This storm is impacting the Pac NW presently, and as it moves inland and into our observational network, we will get a more consistent feel for the timing and intensity as it comes our way. For now, though, showers/storms look to be likely along and ahead of this system, and, as you can see on the severe weather outlook for Saturday, some of those storms may be severe with high winds the primary threat.

Locally heavy rainfall will also be a possibility, particularly for the more eastern counties and on into Arkansas, as you can see on the 5-day QPF map. There may even be some localized flooding issues with this system.

Sunday will be much cooler, and our forecast page has inverted the temperatures with a warmer start than an end to the day due to gusty northerly winds, cloudy skies, and lingering rain or showers, which should be ending from W-E that evening or night. Despite the colder air moving in, it still looks like the precipitation will be all liquid as there is no real cold surface air anywhere close by.

In fact, notice the snow cover map across the U.S. and, with the exception of the mountains, the only snow is basically in Canada. What little snow is in the far Northern Plains is quickly disappearing due to record warm temperatures also occurring up there.

In fact, we expect a return to above normal temperatures again early next week. But, we are finally starting to see a return to colder, more seasonal conditions going into that following weekend and perhaps into Christmas week itself, as you can see on the 8-14-day outlook.

In the meantime, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot