Severe Weather Likely in Coming Days

We are well into April now and there's no getting around it: severe weather season is here. We had a taste of it over the past few days with scattered severe thunderstorms. We've managed to escape the worst of Mother Nature thus far, but we are in her crosshairs for the end of the week.

The storms we've had from the weekend through Wednesday morning have been apart of what we call "Northwesterly Flow." This refers to northwesterly jet stream winds overhead, often bringing down periodic complexes of storms, some of which are severe. In the weather world, we often say "Northwest Flow is a weatherman's woe," mainly due to the difficulty in predicting when and where storms will occur. However, our major severe weather outbreaks in Oklahoma almost always involve southwesterly flow in the jet stream… and that's exactly the pattern we are switching to after today.

This pattern switch, with a large upper-level trough/low pressure to our west will mean a series of days with severe weather chances. We'll have a modest risk of severe weather late Thursday. However, the greatest threat will remain well to our west. On Friday, the threat shifts east a bit, putting much of Green Country in line to see some severe thunderstorms. The map above shows the risk area from the Storm Prediction Center. As the core of high winds aloft moves closer with mid-level impulses to provide lift for thunderstorm formation this weekend, our risk of severe weather goes up even further. Due to the slow-moving nature of the system, it will be a prolonged risk that each and every day could bring hail, high winds, and tornadoes to Oklahoma. This could last till next Monday before the main system gets ejected to our east.

I don't want to paint a picture of doom and gloom, but make sure you are aware that it will be a very active and unusually long period of severe weather. Now is the time to make sure you have a severe weather plan. Make sure your family has a safe shelter when tornadoes are imminent. The lowest floor and most interior room of your home may suffice (unless you live in a mobile home). Having an emergency kit ready to go is also a necessity. We Oklahomans are pretty savvy when it comes to dealing with severe weather, but we never should let our guard down, especially as the active pattern sets up!

On a lighter note, I wanted to share with you that today is my one-year anniversary at KOTV! I'm thrilled to work on such an awesome weather team and look forward to keeping you ahead of the storm for another storm season. Stay safe and stay tuned to Channel 6! For the latest on the severe weather threat, be sure to also follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and "like" me on Facebook!