Cooler, Lighter Winds Wednesday, but not for Long.

As you can see from the map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, it has been another windy day across the state. This is due to a rather strong storm system that is pushing a cold front through, but since the system is moisture starved it is just a dry, windy system. As we go through the night tonight, those gusty winds will be blowing from the NW at 20 mph or more early, but gradually subsiding towards morning. We will also have clear skies and dry, cool air in place, but the winds will keep temperatures from totally bottoming out. Even so, it will be a chilly start to Wednesday with morning lows generally in the 30s to near 40 which is cooler than normal.

NW winds of 10-15 mph for the morning hours will continue to subside to near 10 mph by afternoon as high pressure builds over the state. Even with full sunshine, temperatures will be cooler than normal with daytime highs near 60. The high pressure ridge will quickly move on eastward with a return to southerly flow to mark the calendar beginning of Spring on Thursday. Daytime highs will be back into the 70s along with gusty southerly winds so it will certainly seem very Spring-like despite starting the morning in the 30s. Unfortunately, the gusty winds and warmer temperatures will also produce an elevated fire danger situation.

Friday will have increasing cloud cover in advance of another cold front that will move through that evening or overnight. This system will also have more low level moisture to work with so it has the potential to produce at least a few showers and thunderstorms, some of which may be severe. After all, tis the season. Daytime highs will be in the 70s again along with gusty southerly winds for much of the day.

The weekend will then be much cooler with brisk N/NE winds behind the front for Saturday and continuing into the day Sunday. Daytime highs will be in the 50s and morning lows generally in the 30s along with partly cloudy skies and perhaps a few lingering showers over the more E or SE counties. Yet another cold front looks to be arriving late Monday keeping temperatures below normal for much of next week. Notice the 8-14 graphics on the right and we remain on the western edge of the stronger cool signal but at least there is some potential for precipitation during that period.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot