Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Turning Cooler, Chance of Showers/Storms

Not much in the way of rain that reached the ground from those showers that moved through earlier today.

Notice the rainfall map across the state, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. A good bit of what fell is what we call virga, that is rain that evaporates before reaching the ground, and obviously what did reach the ground did not amount to much.

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Reason for that is that the lowest levels were quite dry, and still are for that matter, with dew point temperatures still running in the 40s to near 50 for NE OK. Air temperatures for today actually came in pretty close to normal, at least here in NE OK, as you can see on the max/min statewide temperature map, also courtesy of the OK Mesonet.

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Normal values for the immediate Tulsa area are 73/51 on this date. By the way, temperatures so far this month are averaging nearly 5 degrees above normal.

The next couple of days will actually be cooler than normal though as a front will be arriving during the morning hours of Wednesday followed by brisk NE winds for most of the day. After starting the day in the low 50s, we will struggle to warm much with low-mid 60s for the afternoon hours expected. Cloudy skies will also prevail for the most part with perhaps a few brief breaks late in the afternoon.

Along with the clouds comes another chance of rain, particularly during the morning hours as the front itself moves across the area. Problem is that this particular boundary is expected to stall out near the Red River into the day Thursday before moving back northward on Friday. Thus, there will be a chance of showers, and perhaps some storms, for the Wed morning time frame, but better chances for the more southern counties during the afternoon near the actual surface front. That is also when and where there will be a potential for some storms to become severe.

Thursday will also be relatively cool with daytime highs in the 60s, an easterly wind, and mostly cloudy skies along with a slight chance of showers.

Then comes Friday, which looks to be the most active day of this forecast cycle. Strong southerly winds will be developing during the day as that frontal boundary surges back northward. Those winds will quickly bring a return to warm & humid conditions, as you can see on our forecast page, setting the stage for a potentially more significant round of showers and storms. Some of those may be severe, primarily late in the day.

After that system moves on eastward, we should have a brief break this coming Saturday before yet another chance of showers and storms arrives for the Sunday night time period. In other words, still the potential for more April showers through this forecast cycle along with at least a possibility of a few severe storms.

So, keep a close eye on the sky and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot