Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: : Record Cold, But Moderating for the Rest of the Week

In yesterday's blog I mentioned that I would provide a more detailed analysis of this recent cold spell we have endured. Notice the graphic which was used in the 9 PM newscast on KQCW last night which shows the high temperatures over the past week in comparison to normal. Although we did not set any daily records during that time period for coldest daytime highs nor for coldest morning lows, when you average it all together, we have never been that cold for that long this early in the year. In other words, the average temperature for those dates is now the coldest on record.

By the way, in case you are wondering, the average temperature over that stretch was below freezing! Yep, the number worked out to 30.3 degrees. Speaking of below freezing, notice the hours below freezing in the past week for the Sooner state, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. Don't have any way to check to see if those numbers are records, but I would be very surprised if they are not. This stretch of cold weather has also impacted soil temperatures which started last week in the low 60s, but as you can see by the soil temperature map, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, have generally dropped by 20 degrees or so.

As mentioned, despite this extended period of record cold we did not set any daily records. Not until this morning, that is. Yep, the low of 14 was a record morning low for Tulsa and records were also set in McAlester among other locations.

At least today's sunny skies and light SW winds have allowed temperatures to moderate rather nicely. Notice the max/min temperature map for today, also courtesy of the OK Mesonet. That trend is expected to continue right on through the coming weekend with a gradual moderation in our daytime highs as well as our overnight lows.

Southerly breezes will keep temperatures from dropping much below the freezing mark tonight and with lots of sunshine we should make to near 50 Wed afternoon. Another front will arrive that morning shifting our winds back to a more NW direction. But, this will not amount to much more than just a brief wind shift and the winds should be back to a more E to SE direction by Thursday afternoon. E to SE winds will continue through Friday with a more southerly wind on Saturday. That should put our daytime highs well into the 50s by Friday and perhaps even near 60 on Saturday.

Cloudy skies will also prevail by Friday with a chance of a few showers, mainly for the more southern and eastern counties. A stronger storm system aloft will be approaching Saturday which should provide widespread showers and perhaps some storms along with potentially some heavy rainfall. Notice the 7 day QPF map which suggests the potential for several inches of rain, particularly in the more SE counties. Notice this will be all rain; there is no threat of any wintry precipitation with this system.

Cooler air will then be returning on Sunday, but may be delayed till late enough in the day for afternoon temperatures to make it back well into the 50s if not near 60. That will be followed by another cool-down for early next week. Temperatures should be moderating in time for Thanksgiving though with near seasonal temperatures now anticipated.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot