Enjoy Sunday, Turning Wet on Monday.

Burned some vacation time last few days, back just in time for a rather complicated forecast situation early in the coming week. Today's sunny skies and mild temperatures will give way to increasing cloud cover during the day Sunday, but we should still be well above normal with afternoon temperatures reaching the upper 50s to near 60. After that, it will be turning cooler and wetter so enjoy.

A rather wet storm system will be moving across the extreme Southern Rockies and then across Oklahoma over the next few days. It will be spreading clouds our way on Sunday and a cold rain will follow on Monday. There remain some questions regarding the exact track/intensity/timing which will have to be watched closely as that will impact the precipitation type for Tuesday.

Look for a short thermometer on Monday with a thick cloud cover and rain moving in from the west during the day. That will keep temperatures fairly steady but mild with gusty SE winds. As the surface low pressure cranks up and moves eastward, we will have gusty N to NW winds on Tuesday with the heaviest rains moving on eastward during the morning hours. However, the colder air at the surface and aloft that will be moving in on the backside of the storm is where the questions arise. At this time, it appears that we can expect falling temperatures by afternoon Tuesday and it will likely be cold enough to support at least a rain/snow mix or a changeover to light snow during the afternoon/evening hours.

However, the deeper moisture will also be moving out as the colder air moves in so the temperature/moisture profiles do not at this time appear to be very promising for much, if any, accumulation on this side of the state. This is where the intensity/track questions mentioned above come into play as some subtle changes in the track and strength could lead to some significant changes in the precipitation type, amount, and location.

As shown on the QPF map on the right, this has the potential to be a very wet system with an inch or more of liquid expected for much of the state which will put another significant dent in the ongoing drought. The more NW counties of the state and into KS will have better chances of at least some of that falling in the form of snow so if you have travel plans going that direction, strongly suggest keeping a close eye on the weather.

After Tuesday, the rest of the week looks to be cool and dry. That should also be the case going on into Christmas weekend.

As always, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot