Wednesday Morning Update

Howdy friends!  It's good to be back after a few days off with my family!  Thanks again to Mike Grogan for handling the morning show duties while I was out.  Now...on with the weather!

Yesterday was absolutely wonderful!  We had plenty of sunshine and temps in the lower 70s.  But late in the afternoon you may have noticed the winds picking up speed from the northwest as a weak front moved across the area.  The air mass behind this front is not exceptionally different from the one ahead of it, but some cooler readings will be likely this morning across extreme northeastern OK compared to yesterday.  We'll see some patchy frost in the valleys with mid 30s.  The Tulsa metro temp will start this morning in the lower 40s before moving to a high around 70 as the winds will flip back around to the east and then southeast later today.

The upper air flow is from the northwest and this will allow another fast moving front to slide across the area either late tonight or Thursday morning.  This front will have some colder air but the moisture content in the lower atmosphere remains very low.  Highs Thursday may stay in the upper 50s across northern OK with stout north winds.  Lower 60s will be common across southeastern OK.

Data supports a fast return to southerly winds Friday into Saturday as another fast moving upper wave approaches.  There may be just enough moisture return for a few showers or even rumbles of thunder to develop Friday night late into Saturday morning.  Our forecast continues to keep a slight mention for this time period, but the chance remains around 10 to 20% through Saturday morning to midday.

After the Saturday midday period, the rest of the weekend appears in decent shape with highs in the upper 60 to near 70.

The long range data is not consistent but does suggest a pattern change for early next week.  The first part of this will bring southerly winds and warmer air to the southern plains Sunday into Monday.  But the second part may bring thunderstorms Tuesday or Wednesday followed by colder air for the end of next week.  The timing of this mid-week system will probably change a day or two, but for now, I'll bring the system into the northern OK area Tuesday night into Wednesday.  Locations across the far eastern sections of the state into the Ark Latex may see a few strong storms, and our neighbors across the Deep South could have severe weather around Halloween. If this system slows down, we may also experience some strong to severe storms.  This system may not totally clear the state until Thursday morning.  Stay tuned! 

The official high in Tulsa yesterday was 73 recorded at 4:06pm.
The daily average high is71 and the low is 49.

The daily records include a high of92 recorded in 1989 and a low of 26 from the year 1937.

Precip for the year remains at 28.26 inches which is -6.28 compared to normal precip to date of 34.54 inches.

You'll find me on facebook and twitter.

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

Thanks for reading the Wednesday Morning Weather Discussion and blog.

Have a super great day!

Alan Crone
KOTV