Turning Cooler.

The map on the right, courtesy of the OK Mesonet, shows the rainfall over the last 24 hours. Now that the rain has pretty well moved out of the state, these should be the final totals for this particular episode. As was expected, most of the rain was very light with the heaviest amounts confined to the extreme E and SE counties and our more western neighbors missing out completely.

The system responsible for this is moving on eastward and will be followed by clearing skies and gradually increasing northerly winds. In fact, our skies have already started clearing out and the afternoon sunshine will result in above normal afternoon temperatures once again. Not for much longer though.

During the overnight hours, northerly winds will be on the increase becoming rather gusty by morning and generally from the NE at 15-25 mph for much of the day Wednesday. This will make those morning temperatures in the 30s to near 40 feel much cooler and daytime temperatures will only reach the 50s. We also expect a mixture of clouds and sun on Wednesday.

Light winds and fair skies for Wednesday night should result in freezing temperatures to start the day Thursday. That will be followed by gradually moderating temperatures going into the coming weekend as our winds return to a southerly direction. In fact, a tightening pressure gradient should produce strong and gusty southerly winds on Friday resulting in an enhanced fire danger situation.

Another cool front will be arriving by early Sunday and will more or less stall out just south of us. That will cool us off but the really cold air will remain well to the north. A more important issue will be the front bouncing around along the Red River Valley going into early next week. Aloft, a series of disturbances will be moving overhead and with the front just to the south of us, that is usually an unsettled pattern. We will have a chance of showers perhaps as early as Saturday ahead of the front and more likely for Sunday and Monday. Beyond that, the longer range guidance is so far being surprisingly consistent in bringing a much stronger system our way along about Tuesday. If that verifies, we could be in for a good soaking.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot