Better Chances of Showers/Storms.

The recent rains have certainly been beneficial, but in the context of how dry we were going into that rainy episode it certainly was not a drought breaker, just a drought denter. Notice the drought monitor map on the right which was updated this morning. It incorporates the recent rains and does show some improvement over last week. But, notice the second map on the right courtesy of the OK Mesonet which shows the percentage of normal rainfall so far this year and you can see that we are still way behind on moisture. In fact, for NE OK as a whole, this still stands as the 3rd driest on record for this calendar year.

Keep in mind that May is normally our wettest month of the year but our rainy spring season does often extend into about the middle of June before the summer heat and dryness really settles in. With that in mind, there is a better chance of additional showers/storms over the next few days and again later next week and perhaps into that following week. Notice the 8-14 day graphic also on the right which at least suggests near to above normal precipitation during that time frame.

We have had some spotty showers/storms that have popped up this afternoon which will be quickly falling apart after sunset this evening. That will leave us with partly cloudy overnight skies and temperatures falling back into the mid-upper 60s along with light NE winds. The upper level system that brought the rains of earlier in the week is showing some indications of retrograding back to the west which should bring a better chance of showers/storms for Friday & Saturday before is dissipates altogether. So, the chances of rain will once again show a W-E gradient with greatest chances E of I-35 for the next day or two. The chances of any rain at all is 100%, but it will not rain everywhere. The areal coverage is expected to be on the order of 50-60% for Friday, a little less on Saturday, and much less on Sunday. That means the chances of your getting wet will also be on the order of 50-60% Friday, a little less Saturday, and much less Sunday.

Temperatures will also be impacted by the extra clouds and any cooling showers/storms. After reaching the mid-upper 80s this afternoon, we should be in the low-mid 80s for Fri/Sat. Upper 80s will return Sunday and around 90 by early next week.

The longer range guidance also suggests the possibility of a weak frontal boundary moving this way late next week. Thus, after a hot, humid, mostly dry start to the month of June we may see an up tick in our rain chances late in the week and as mentioned above possibly extending into the following week.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot