Wet and Cold Holiday Weekend Ahead

If you were up early on Saturday morning, you may have experienced Green Country’s first taste of winter. A few snowflakes happened to be flying as brisk northerly winds brought temperatures down into the 30s.  The following night, Tulsa broke its record long streak of consecutive days above the freezing mark (258 days) as we dipped to 27°. Since then, temperatures have rebounded significantly and nice fall weather has resumed.  However, that last bout of cold air really marked a turning point in the season as we are now prone to the whole gamut of weather from the stormy to the wintry and just about everything in between. In the holiday week ahead, we might see much of that range.

                Through Tuesday, we will bask in what limited sunlight we have this time of year with mild daytime temperatures.  After that, however, the return moisture from the Gulf will obscure our skies with clouds as a strong, multi-faceted storm system approaches.  The first raindrops may occur late Tuesday night as gusty south winds draw in that unseasonably high amount of moisture.  Wednesday, the big travel day, will be cloudy with spotty showers in drizzle. Aside from using the windshield wipers and experiencing a strong cross-wind at times while driving, the travel impacts should be minimal. By Thanksgiving Day, that storm system sets up a strong frontal boundary just to our northwest as very mild, very moist air collides with bone-chilling winds originating in Canada. This will enhance the rainfall, especially by afternoon as that front sinks southward toward Green Country. Some thunder is also possible, but the big concern will be for flooding. Several inches of rain may fall in just a few hours, which could cause that road to Grandmother’s house to be inundated with water. Clearly, Thanksgiving won’t be a pleasant day to be driving long distances.  Fortunately, temperatures will remain in the 60s from morning to early evening so wintry weather for eastern Oklahoma is not a concern. The attached map shows just how much rain may fall between now and the end of the holiday weekend.

                However, the bottom falls out that night into Black Friday, just as hordes of shoppers line up outside of stores for the big deals.  Temperatures are likely to remain above freezing through the day, but wind chill values will be well down into the 20s.  Spits of showers are possible, but most of the nasty, wintry stuff is expected (for now) to stay out in western Oklahoma.  That night into Saturday, another round of rain will overspread the area.  With temperatures hovering in the mid to lower 30s in parts of northeast Oklahoma, we can’t rule out a little bit of icing on elevated surfaces, but that threat once again will be relegated to areas mainly west of I-35 where deeper cold air will be found.

                If you’re heading to Stillwater for Bedlam, pack the layers and the rain gear as it’ll be a raw, cold day with temperatures in the 30s. It’s likely another washout with no sunshine on Saturday. Sunday may offer gradual clearing as the bulk of the rain slides east. Clouds may be slow to clear, but temperatures will start to rebound back into the 40s. That’s still cold, but at least a trend we’d like to see by that point!  That cooler than normal weather is still likely to last into the first few days of December, but highs in the 30s won’t be the new normal… yet.

                Have a Happy Thanksgiving, rain… or deluge! Be sure to follow me for the updates on the unsettled holiday weather on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and on my Facebook page.