Heat and Humidity Returns.

Happy Independence Day! Notice the first map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, showing the high/low temperatures for this July 4th. Mighty nice for this time of year since our normal range is 92/72 so the milder mornings in particular made for a very pleasant day.

But, our winds have returned to a more SE direction during the day today and will be generally from the south through the coming week with wind speeds increasing to 10-20 mph during the afternoon hours and less during the overnight hours. That, of course, means we will see warmer temperatures along with higher dew point temperatures which in turn means the heat and humidity will be more of a factor. That will be quite a contrast to the low humidity levels and milder conditions we have enjoyed over the course of the last few days. Suggest taking frequent breaks and drinking lots of fluids until your body becomes accustomed to the more typical summer-like weather that we will be dealing with over the course of this forecast cycle.

Light SE breezes and relatively mild conditions this evening and early tonight will make for some fine weather for the fireworks displays. However, those SE winds will not calm down completely so temperatures by Saturday morning should start off in the upper 60s to around 70 which is still a tad below normal. As the day wears on, those southerly winds will be increasing to 10-20 mph and that will be the case for Sunday and Monday as well. That will provide some nice ventilation as our daytime temperatures will be back into the upper 80s or lower 90s on Saturday and the low-mid 90s for Sunday into early next week. Our nights will also be getting warmer with morning lows in the 70s during that time frame as well.

Some changes in the pattern aloft will allow another weak frontal boundary to approach the northern counties along about the middle of the coming week. That should produce a little more cloud cover and bring with it at least the possibility of some showers/storms. Right now the coverage does not appear to be too generous which is a shame as we will certainly be needing the moisture by then. Between now and then, cannot rule out the possibility of an isolated shower or storm popping up late in the day, but the chances of that are in the slim to none category.

So, all indications suggest we will be easing into a more typical summer-like pattern over the course of this forecast cycle with hot and humid conditions and only slight chances of a cooling shower or storm.

Dick Faurot