Thursday Morning Update

Very cold air will remain across the state and the central plains today and tonight before moving eastward Friday.  Weekend weather continues to look good with morning lows in the upper 20s and lower 30s with daytime highs in the upper 50s and lower 60s.  Sunday will be the warmest day of the weekend with southwest winds and sunshine.  The big issue this morning remains extremely cold wind chill values.  A wind chill advisory will remain for most of northern OK and southern Kansas until noon.  

The arctic front moved across the state late last night bringing strong north winds and much colder air.  Temps have been dropping into the teens during the last few hours across northern OK, but wind chill values are expected to drop this morning into the zero range.  The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory with readings expected from zero to -10 during the next few hours.  Winds will be from the north in the 10 to 25 mph range for the next few hours before decreasing speeds by early afternoon.  The cold air will keep daytime highs in the upper teens or lower 20s across northern OK with southern section's moving to near freezing.  There should be a few spotty clouds for the next few hours but sunshine would be in the mix today.   You are encouraged to take extra precautions this morning to layer up if you find yourself outside.  Kids at the bus stop will require heavy coats, gloves, and head coverings.    

A strong surface ridge of high pressure continues building down across the plains states this morning bringing the bitterly cold air to our area.  Friday this ridge will quickly migrate eastward and southwest surface winds will return by midday in the 10 to 22 mph range.  Friday morning lows in the single digits will be replaced with afternoon highs near 40 along with mostly sunny conditions. 

The weekend will once again feature a robust warm-up.  Lows near freezing will be followed by highs Saturday in the mid to upper 50s and lower 60s on Sunday.  This will be the third weekend in a row of very nice weather.  And once again another strong cold front will approach our area Sunday night bringing colder air back to the state for Monday.  We'll see Monday afternoon highs only near freezing across southern OK with some upper 20s across the northeastern third of the region.  North winds in the 15 to 25 mph range will also crank out some low wind chill values.  Colder air will persist Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.  The extended data support some cooler air sticking around for most of next week but some moderation is likely.   

The last run of the EURO brings a disturbance across the area Monday night into Tuesday morning with some flurries or light snow.  But this is the first run and the only model suggesting this scenario at this moment and we'll keep the pops off the map.  

The prospects for significant rain or precipitation appear very low until the end of the month into early February.  The fire danger will continue to be elevated for the next several days.  A few counties have issued local burn bans and additional burn bans are likely to be issued during the next few days.   

The official high yesterday in Tulsa was 47 recorded at 3:42pm.

The normal daily average high is 49 and the low is 28. 

Daily records include a high of 78 from 1909 and a low of -8 from 1930. 

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I'll be discussing the forecast on numerous Radio Oklahoma News Network affiliates across the state through the noon hour. 

Thank you for reading the Thursday Morning Weather discussion and blog. 

Have a safe day. 

Alan Crone

KOTV