Nice Weekend, Cold Blast Next Week.

This has certainly been a rather windy day, particularly for the more western counties as the map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, clearly shows. A few gusts over 50 have been recorded out that way. Fortunately, the pressure gradient will be more relaxed over the course of the weekend as a weak frontal boundary will be sagging down from the north and that will result in much lighter winds both Saturday and Sunday.

For the evening hours though, gusty southerly winds will still be common making any outdoor activities such as attending a high school football game rather chilly. Also, southerly winds around 10 mph will prevail through the overnight hours so that Saturday morning will be much milder with morning lows generally in the 40s.

Saturday will again have lots of sunshine with just some high level cirrus clouds, a general southerly wind flow around 10-12 mph, and daytime highs well into the 60s which will be a bit above normal. Late Saturday and into Sunday morning is when the weak frontal boundary will arrive with a more E to NE wind but only around 10 mph or so. By Sunday afternoon/evening, the winds will be back to the S or SE at around 10-12 mph and we will have lots of sunshine again during the day. So, temperatures on Sunday will start off in the lower 40s, but well into the 60s again that afternoon which is still above normal.

One more relatively mild day will occur on Monday with southerly winds for most of the day, morning lows in the upper 40s to near 50, and afternoon highs reaching well into the 60s. Then, the bottom drops out as the coldest air of the season will be pushing rapidly across the state Monday night followed by a cold, blustery day on Tuesday. Right now, this does not look to be a very wet system with only some light rain/showers/drizzle expected for Monday night ending early Tuesday morning followed by clearing skies that afternoon.

But, you will certainly notice the change in temperatures as the trend in the longer range guidance continues to support even colder temperatures. Lower 30s Tuesday morning but with a gusty northerly wind and an afternoon high only in the lower 40s will make for a raw, blustery day. Light winds, clear skies, and temperatures dropping into the lower 20s are now expected for Wednesday morning which will easily be the coldest so far this season. By Thursday, our winds are expected to be returning to a more southerly direction resulting in a gradual moderation in temperatures going into the following weekend. There may be a slight chance of showers along about Fri or Sat of next week as well.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot