Snowfall Records Tumble.

The record snowfall here in Tulsa for the month of February was 10.5" and we have shattered that as our current total now stands at 16.8". The all time record for any month was Mar of 1924 when we had 19.7" of snow. That record is certainly in jeopardy as another significant winter storm is headed our way and could easily produce another 5-10" by the time it is all over with.

As always, the devil will be in the details as this system will be moving inland into NW Canada tonight and we should have better data sampling by first thing Monday morning. The better data base will also give us a better idea of the track, intensity, and timing of the system as it comes our way. So far, the guidance has been pretty consistent in painting a bulls-eye over Oklahoma on Wednesday.

Between now and then, the system responsible for some mostly light rain along and south of I-40 today could have some lingering light snow into the night tonight. No accumulations are expected and we should see enough sunshine by Monday afternoon to get us back above the freezing mark during the day. Tuesday will start off cold and will struggle to get above freezing as clouds will be on the increase ahead of the developing storm.

We could see some light snow by Tuesday night, but the snow will be widespread by Wednesday morning and continuing for much of the day before ending Wednesday night. Along with the snow comes bitter cold with temperatures in the teens through the day and gusty NE winds creating wind chill values at or below zero once again. Currently, all indications suggest it will not produce nearly as much snow as last weeks blizzard nor will it have winds that will be as strong. Even so, anywhere from 5 inches to locally as much as 10 inches will be possible and there will be considerable blowing and drifting making travel very difficult.

After that, bitter cold for Thursday and Friday followed by a significant warming trend going into the weekend. In fact, all indications point to a change in the unsettled pattern of the last few weeks allowing for much milder and more stable conditions for that following week.

As always, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot