Warming Trend Expected as August Ends

Several rounds of heavy storms brought a good soaking to nearly all of eastern Oklahoma this past weekend.  It should be enough to really green up Green Country here in the final weeks of summer.  What it doesn’t currently feel like however… is summer!  Temperatures struggled to warm this weekend due to cloud cover and rain Saturday and a north wind added to the mix on Sunday.  The net result has been a continued taste of fall that will persist a bit longer in the wake of the cold front.

                The final piece of the system has yet to fully clear the area.  That means a few showers and isolated storms can’t be ruled out overnight into Monday morning, mainly in areas south of I-40.  Despite clearing skies Monday afternoon, temperatures will only warm into the lower to mid-80s.  This is nearly 10° below normal.  These highs are common in the latter half of September, about a month ahead of schedule!

                There’s no need to mourn the loss of summertime heat though (if you happen to be warm-weather inclined).  The persistent ridge of high pressure out west will gradually push eastward and expand the hotter conditions over our region.  It’ll be interrupted by a weak disturbance going around the periphery of that High by Thursday into Friday. Right now, it appears we could have some showers in place to stunt the warming trend late this week.  By the weekend, however, the heat is on.  Temperatures will likely climb above 90° and we’ll close out the month of August with near-normal conditions.

                That warmer pattern will likely continue all the way through the first week in September. The jet stream will shift further north and keep us under the influence of that high pressure with dry conditions.  8 to 14 days out, above-normal temperatures are likely for much of the central U.S. and we could experience at least a modest late-summer heat wave.  Triple-digit readings are harder to come by in September, but we can’t say we’re done with those conditions quite yet. Depending on how much moisture returns in our air mass next week, it could be just dry enough to see temperatures spike towards that century mark.

                Something else that’s heating up is the Tropics.  We just had our first Atlantic hurricane of the season named Danny.  It has weakened dramatically as it pushes into the Leeward Islands. Between land interactions and increased wind shear (that tears apart Tropical systems), Danny will not likely pose a threat to the U.S. coastline. However, another disturbance is on its heels and is expected to form into Tropical Storm Erika in the coming days.  The peak of Hurricane Season in the Atlantic is just a few weeks away so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing this trend.

                Here in Oklahoma, enjoy the pleasant, fall-like air and prepare for a little more heat before summer comes to a close!  Be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and like my Facebook page!