Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Brief Break Before Showers/Storms Return

Eleven of eighteen, that is the number of days so far this month in which we have received at least some rainfall as recorded at the official observation location near the airport here in Tulsa. The normal for the entire month also just happens to be 11 days, so we have already reached that value a little over half way through the month.

And the rains have been generous, as you can see from the totals over this past weekend and over the last two weeks. In fact, up to this point this is the 6th wettest May on record here in Tulsa.

More rain is likely, as you can see on our forecast page. After only a few spotty showers late this afternoon, there will be a chance of a few showers moving back in late in the day Tuesday, but probably not reaching this side of the state till evening or after dark. So, most of us have enjoyed at least a brief break before the next round of showers and storms move in Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Those will pose another threat of locally heavy rainfall, although the severe potential looks to be low with this round. That will be followed by another brief break on Thursday before several more rounds of showers/storms head our way over the course of the Memorial Day weekend.

Unfortunately, more heavy rains will be possible with that activity and the set-up will also be more favorable for at least a threat of some severe storms. Flooding is a primary concern though; as you can see on the 7-day QPF map, the potential is certainly there for more generous rainfall totals in the days ahead.

After a very warm, humid day today, we at least will get a break in temperatures as a cool front moved through during the day today bringing a more NE wind, which will also bring in drier and cooler air. Notice the max/min temperature map for today, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. E OK was generally in the low-mid 80s and with dew point temperatures that were in the upper 60s, it was almost tropical today. But, the drier air brought in by those NE winds will result in generally fair to partly cloudy skies by morning and overnight lows back into the 50s which will be a nice break. Also, with clouds quickly returning and a NE wind, our daytime highs will be back into the 70s.

The more widespread rains on Wednesday will also hold temperatures down and another surge of cooler air will arrive on Thursday to knock temperatures down even more. Then, a series of disturbances aloft will be impacting the state, bringing daily chances of showers/storms as mentioned above, but also holding temperatures in check.

Daytime highs generally in the 70s are expected as compared to the normal daytime high of 80 at this time of year.

Since more rain is on the horizon in what is already a very wet month of May along with the potential for additional flooding issues and perhaps some severe storms, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot