Rain Likely Tonight, Colder for the Weekend.

Notice the first map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, which shows the rainfall over the last 24 hours. The extreme S and SE counties have had a decent soaking already and fortunately the rain will continue to spread over the rest of the state tonight and into Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the additional rainfall will not do much more than put a little dent in the ongoing drought situation. The second map on the right shows the estimated rainfall valid through the day Thursday and although we will take it, we could sure use a great deal more.

Look for periods of rain and showers through the overnight hours and into the morning of Thursday before gradually tapering off from the SW to the NE as the day wears on. Fortunately, temperatures are extremely mild and will stay that way for several more days so there is no concern for any ice tonight. In fact, don't be surprised if we set a record warm morning low on Thursday morning as we expect to start the day warmer than our usual daytime highs for this time of year. Despite the cloudy skies all day long, southerly winds and the very mild start will still push daytime temperatures well into the 50s and possibly near 60 by days end.

Friday will be even warmer with at least some sunshine and a gusty SW surface wind. Look for daytime highs to make it well into the 60s and some areas may even see 70. That will depend on just how much sunshine we actually receive as it also appears that a deck of high level cirrus clouds will be present and may just be thick enough to limit our solar heating.

Keep in mind, this is January and more seasonal weather will be arriving in the form of a cold front on Saturday. The front itself will actually move through Friday night as our winds shift from the SW to the N and the colder air will filter in behind that. Look for temperatures to be inverted on Saturday as temperatures will probably be falling throughout the day. Also, another upper level system behind the front will likely keep us overcast with at least a chance of additional light rain for late Saturday. Saturday night could get interesting as the colder air continues to surge southward and some lingering moisture could result in a wintry mix for the overnight hours and into early Sunday morning.

After that, at least the early part of next week will be more like January with morning lows generally in the 20s and daytime highs in the 30s to lower 40s as the week wears on.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot