Wash, Rinse, Repeat....One More Day.

Wash, rinse, repeat….that pretty well sums up our weather for the rest of the day today and again on Wednesday as we will remain very warm, humid, and rather windy. But, there are some changes coming our way which will bring about at least a chance of showers/storms later in the week and again early next week.

Before getting around to that, thought a look back at this recent wet spell would be of interest. Notice the first map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. This recent wet spell began in the western counties along about May 21 and has been ongoing for at least some parts of the state since then. The map clearly shows that all but the more SE counties have received much more than their normal rainfall through this period. As you may recall, the period from Jan 1 up till this wet spell started was among the driest on record, so these recent rains have been a real blessing.

However, given the warm, windy conditions of the last couple of days, again today, and expected for tomorrow, it does not take long for that moisture to be removed. Notice the second map on the right, also courtesy of the OK Mesonet. This shows the evapotranspiration for yesterday which was a very warm, windy day. Evapotranspiration is the moisture removed via evaporation together with transpiration. Transpiration is the result of plants removing moisture from the soil and the combination of the two can be significant. Notice as much as 1/3" is common on this side of the state, even more out west where the winds are stronger. In other words under these conditions, it does not take long for our soils to dry out.

That, in turn, makes the potential for some additional showers/storms later this week and again next week all the more important. As mentioned, Wednesday will be much like today with gusty southerly winds, temperatures likely reaching the low 90s, heat index values likely in the upper 90s with minimum relative humidity levels only dropping into the low 50% range as dew point temperatures are expected to remain in the low 70s.

That keeps our nights from cooling much and mid-upper 70s will be the general rule again tonight along with a brisk southerly breeze all night long.

But, some energy aloft will be affecting the state for the Thu/Fri time frame with a decent shot at some replenishing moisture. Some of the showers/storms will be locally quite heavy as well with the potential for locally strong storms. That will also keep our daytime highs into the mid-upper 80s under mostly cloudy skies and still with a brisk southerly wind.

As that system moves on by, the weekend will likely see a return to hot, humid conditions with little or no mention of rain along with a brisk southerly breeze. That will be followed by yet another system aloft affecting the state with at least a chance of showers/storms again early next week. As long as we can periodically get these chances of showers/storms into the area, we stand a good chance of staying green which also helps to keep those maximum temperatures in check.

So, although we will be hot and humid throughout this forecast cycle and into next week as well, at least there will also be periodic chances of showers/storms during that time frame. As always, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot