Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Rain On The Way

Quite a temperature range today as you can see on the max/min temperature map, courtesy of the OK Mesonet.  Some patchy frost may have occurred for a few locations with temperatures in the low-mid 30s to start the day, but at least a nice rebound this afternoon.  Last time we were this cool was back in early April so it has been awhile.  In fact, so far for the month of October, temperatures are averaging more than 2 degrees above normal.

The recent rains left quite a footprint for portions of the state and this region.  Notice the 7 day statewide rainfall map for example and then the 7 day regional rainfall map.  Quite a gradient into N OK, but then again not sure we wanted the torrential, flooding rains that occurred across Texas.

The system responsible for those heavy rains along the Gulf coast is now moving slowly northward and the wrap around moisture is coming our way from the east.  As a result, we will have cloudy to mostly cloudy skies for tonight and much of the day Tuesday which will impact temperatures as you can see on our forecast page.  There will also be a slight chance of a few light showers, primarily over the more eastern counties.

That system should be finally moving on eastward Wednesday followed by clearing skies and a brisk NW wind.  That should leave us with a pleasant Thursday with lots of sunshine and relatively mild temperatures.

We have been watching the development of yet another strong storm system headed our way for several days now and the longer range guidance is now coming into better agreement.  Right now, it looks like showers and some storms will be spreading this way on Friday, continuing into the day Saturday, and perhaps even into the day Sunday.  There remain some timing/intensity/location issues so we are using a rather broad brush at this time, but it certainly looks like this will be another slow mover with potentially heavy rains.

As you can see on the 7 day QPF map, the heaviest rains once again look to be south of us and generally in the same locations that just received such heavy rains in recent days.  If this verifies, those folks will be dealing with some major flood issues.

At any rate, it now appears that rain will definitely be an issue for the football games this coming Friday night and also the Halloween activities on Saturday night.  Still no indication of any really cold air coming this way through this forecast  cycle though as the returning clouds and showers will help to keep temperatures on the mild side.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot