Warming Trend for the Weekend.

What a difference a day can make as the map on the right shows, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. Yesterday's rather balmy conditions have given way to more seasonal January conditions, but not for long. This will be another glancing blow of the colder air and after a chilly start to our Friday morning, look for temperatures to be above normal through the weekend and into early next week.

Despite all the cloud cover, not much in the way of precipitation will occur as only some light drizzle may develop later this evening and into the night tonight. There is a very slight possibility of some of that in the form of freezing drizzle for the extreme NE counties and adjacent areas of KS/MO/ARK. Temperatures in those areas will quickly fall below freezing early tonight, so just be aware of some slick spots that may develop on elevated surfaces such as bridges and overpasses.

Mostly sunny skies should then return for Friday and despite a northerly wind, temperatures will likely be a bit above normal with highs around the 50 degree mark. Don't expect the sunshine to last long though as high level clouds will be quickly returning during the day Saturday and mostly cloudy skies are expected for Sunday. Southerly winds will also be returning so temperatures will be quickly moderating, but the cloud cover will hamper the warm-up to an extent. Still, look for much above normal temperatures this weekend.

There will also be a chance of showers/storms on Sunday, but current indications suggest the most likely location for that will be over the more northern counties and into KS. That will be followed by a break in the cloud cover, continued brisk southerly winds, and very mild spring-like conditions for Monday. In fact, it looks like our afternoon highs will likely reach well into the 70s which is close to record territory for this time of year.

It could get more interesting on Tuesday when the next cold front arrives. The longer range guidance continues to flip regarding the strength/timing/location of this system, but the most recent numerical solutions now suggest that the system aloft will be more of an open wave as opposed to a closed circulation. That suggests that the surface winds will not likely provide enough convergence to produce much in the way of showers/storms until after the system is well on east of us. That is certainly subject to change, and for now will keep at least a chance of showers/storms in the forecast for Tuesday, but would not be surprised if most of the activity is well on to our east.

With the cold front scheduled for arrival Tue afternoon, Wed and Thu will likely see another cool-down, but only to more normal levels for this time of year. This all means that January will end on a very mild note and will go down in the record books as yet another month with above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot