Tuesday Morning Update

The thaw begins today.    Morning temperatures are into the lower and middle teens, but later this afternoon we'll move above freezing to near 40 degrees across most of northern OK and southern Kansas.  Some low clouds will be prevalent this morning in a few locations.  Some freezing fog is likely across western OK but this should remain west of our immediate area.  

The minor warm up begins today.  This will begin the thawing process but some ice will remain in trees and elevated surfaces for at least another day.  South winds will increase speeds in the 10 to 22 mph range this afternoon and some additional power outages will be possible due to the strain of ice on trees and power lines.  This is not expected to result in significant outages, but a few spotty reports will be anticipated.   

The upper air flow will remain from the northwest for the next 48 to 60 hours.  This will bring another fast moving wave near the state later tonight into Christmas day.  The atmosphere is expected to remain too dry for anything other than a sprinkle or flurry. We will not include any pops on the 7 day planner for Christmas Day.  A few clouds will be possible but we also anticipate mainly sunshine with highs in the lower to mid-40s.  Northwest wind  will prevail around 10 mph by the afternoon.   

Thursday a surface ridge of high pressure will be near the state allowing for light and variable winds and highs in the lower to mid-40s after morning lows in the teens.  Abundant sunshine will be in the forecast Thursday.  Friday into Saturday a warming trend will begin with morning lows in the 20s and 30s followed by Friday afternoon highs in the lower 50s and Saturdays highs in the upper 50s.   

Another front will slide across the state Sunday or Monday with another cool down.  Lows in the 20s will be followed by highs in the 30s.  No precipitation will be included at this point but a slight 10% pop may eventually be required for extreme eastern OK.  

The extended data supports another big system nearing the state around the New Year's Holiday.  Stay tuned. Some of the data indicate the potential for more wintry precipitation with this system.

The official high in Tulsa yesterday was 28 recorded at 12:47pm.

The normal daily average high is 48 and the low is 28.

The daily records include a high 80 from 1955 and a low of -2 from 1983. 

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

Thanks for reading the Tuesday Morning Weather Discussion and  blog. 

Have a super great day. 

Alan Crone

KOTV