Wintry Weather Ending Tonight, Sunny & Mild Wednesday.

Talk about a close call. As I write this, portions of W OK have received more than 5" of snow, but here in E OK, it has been mostly a cold rain. As of early this afternoon, radar data suggests the freezing level is still around 1000 feet above the surface and the near surface air has managed to stay warm enough to melt most of the snow. As we go on into the evening and early night time hours, that freezing level aloft is expected to drop closer to the surface allowing more snow to mix in with the rain and even to change over completely to snow for at least a short while. The timing and duration of that changeover will have huge implications regarding how much wintry precipitation actually can accumulate. It looks like given the widespread rain that will precede the changeover, there will likely be more snow that will fall than will actually accumulate due to the melting at ground level. Grassy and elevated surfaces could still pick up anywhere from 1-3" before it all moves out after midnight.

Temperatures will stay above freezing till around the midnight hour, then drop into the upper 20s to near 30 by Wednesday morning. That could result in slick spots on bridges and overpasses first thing in the morning. After that, lots of sunshine during the day and light westerly winds should result in afternoon temperatures reaching the upper 40s to near 50. Thursday will be warmer yet ahead of another cold front which will arrive by afternoon or evening. That will be followed by a couple of chilly days for Friday and Saturday with possibly even a few brief flurries on Friday.

Sunday and Monday will see a return to gusty southerly winds and much warmer conditions along with a chance of showers or storms late Monday. That will be followed by another cool-down for Tue/Wed of next week.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot