An Interesting Wednesday Followed by a Cold Thursday.

The stationary boundary that has been wobbling around the SE corner of the state for the last day or two has made for quite a contrast in temperatures. The map on the right shows that contrast very clearly with the extreme SE counties in the 70s and low 80s and NW of I-44 temperatures were still in the 40s. However, unlike yesterday the cloud deck is expected to hang tough making it difficult for temperatures to recover much for the rest of the day.

For the overnight hours, temperatures will likely hold steady for the more northern counties and only drop into the 60s for the more southern counties. It still looks like the boundary will mix out and reform further to the NW on Wednesday as a stronger system aloft drops into the southern Rockies and then starts to move eastward. That should result in a return to gusty S/SE winds and at least some sunshine which in turn will get our daytime highs back into the 70s.

Then it starts getting interesting as the system aloft will be ejecting out pushing a stronger cold front our way which is expected to move through E OK during the early morning hours of Thursday. Very warm, moist air ahead of that cold front will set the stage for a potentially active severe weather day Wednesday through Wednesday night. All modes of severe weather will be possible along with the potential for locally heavy rainfall. The second map on the right shows the estimated QPF which if it verifies will provide some badly needed rainfall across much of the state; perhaps even enough to start filling up the ponds and lakes.

After that, you will be wondering if this is really April as gusty NW winds will result in temperatures falling back into the 40s for Thursday afternoon and the winds will make it feel much cooler. Friday morning is a little questionable as temperatures will be in the lower 30s, but the winds may stay up enough to prevent frost or perhaps keep us just above freezing; again not very much like the middle of April.

At least we should see plenty of sun that afternoon so temperatures will recover back into the 50s followed by another cold night Friday night. Temperatures in the 30s and frost will be possible early Saturday morning followed by southerly winds and a warming trend into early next week. Another storm system will be moving in later Monday and that looks to be followed by another significant cool-down for Tuesday and Wednesday. Quite a contrast to what we experienced this time last year.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot