Wednesday Morning Update

Expect a mostly to partly sunny and cold afternoon with highs near 43.  Another front approaches the state this afternoon and evening but no precipitation is expected.  

After a very cold News Year Day along with scattered flurries and a few snow showers, we finally get to experience a little sunshine today.  Some low clouds continue this morning across southern OK but we anticipate these clouds to "thin out" as the day progresses.  

A surface ridge of high pressure will slide to the east of Tulsa this afternoon allowing a west surface wind across the northern third of the state in the 10 mph range.  The split flow upper air pattern will allow another fast moving clipper to drive a cold front into the state late this afternoon with winds shifting from the northwest around 5pm to 6pm near Tulsa.  This will knock the highs back down into the upper 30s Thursday along with north winds around 10 to 15 mph. No precipitation will occur.  

The medium and extended range models continue to offer a mid-level trough hanging back to the west until Friday or Saturday morning.  The data does not support any precip with this feature but some clouds will be possible.  It's worth noting the EURO data a week ago did produce some precip across the state, and stranger things have happened!  A surface cold front may slide across the state Saturday with a wind shift and we'll keep the highs in the upper 40s.   

After this system crosses the central and southern plains, the southern stream will attempt to become the dominant influence for the state into early next week.  This means a warmer trend will be likely to commence with highs in the lower to mid-50s Sunday and nearing 60 by Tuesday.   

A strong southern stream system may provide some rain and storm activity Wednesday or Thursday, but the confidence in the timing of the system remains very low. At this point, just remain aware of another rain/storm chance for the middle of next week.  

The high yesterday in Tulsa was 38 recorded at 12:16AM.

The normal daily high is 47 and the low is 28.

Daily records include a high of 76 from 2004 and 1997.  Our daily record low is 2 degrees and was recorded both in 2001 and 1911.

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Thanks for reading the Wednesday morning weather discussion.

I'll also be discussing the weather today on numerous Radio Oklahoma Network affiliate stations this morning and through the early afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by this morning!

Have a super great day!

Alan Crone

KOTV