Cool start to first day of spring, warmer temps arrive Thursday afternoon

After a chilly Wednesday, temperatures will rebound on Thursday. Morning lows will start in the 30s, with highs reaching the lower 60s.

Winds will be light and shift from north in the morning to south by the afternoon, making Thursday the calmest day of the week regarding the winds.

What is the weather like on Thursday?

A strong system is moving away from our area Thursday morning, bringing lighter winds and clearing skies.

Temperatures will start in the mid-30s in some locations but will rise to the upper 50s and lower 60s by Thursday afternoon.

A few clouds will linger early but will clear to the east, allowing for plenty of sunshine.

Gusty northwest winds will continue for the early morning hours, but lower wind speeds will arrive by midday to afternoon, eventually landing in the 10 to 15 mph range for Thursday afternoon. 

Will the fire danger return on Friday?

The fire danger will return on Friday. Another fast-moving upper-level system will pass through the central part of the country over the next 36 hours.

By Friday morning, the pressure gradient will tighten, resulting in gusty south winds at 15 to 30 mph.

Fire danger rates will increase throughout the region. Temperatures on Friday afternoon will reach the lower to mid-70s.

A quick-moving cold front will cross southern Oklahoma late Friday night into early Saturday, but the chances for measurable precipitation remain very low and mostly confined to areas outside our immediate region.

What's the weekend outlook?

A much stronger upper-level system will move from the Intermountain region into the Central Plains Saturday night into Sunday.

This system will cause south winds to increase Saturday night into early Sunday morning, bringing a surge of low-level moisture into Oklahoma.

A surface low-pressure area is expected to develop across northern Oklahoma by Saturday night and move east out of Oklahoma early Sunday morning.

As upper-level energy approaches, scattered showers and storms will become possible, with a few storms potentially strong to severe.

The primary threats would be hail and gusty winds. After early Sunday morning, the surface low-pressure system will shift east, and a cold front will slide southward.

This may trigger a few additional showers or storms across far southern Oklahoma as they move into North Texas by Sunday night.

The probability of storm development is questionable for this period, and most locations will more than likely not see any storms.

Keep checking this period of the forecast for additional updates.

What’s the outlook for early next week?

Spring-like weather is on the horizon for Monday and Tuesday.

Morning lows will be in the 40s, while daytime highs will climb into the mid to upper 70s, eventually nearing 80 by the middle to end of next week.

Another system is expected to approach the area by the middle to the end of next week, bringing a mention for a low-end chance of scattered showers and storms.

Welcome to Spring!

The astronomical start of spring, the vernal equinox, happened Thursday morning at 4:01 a.m. in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorological spring, however, is considered to begin on March 1st.

What is the Equinox?

The equinox occurs twice a year, in March and September, when the Earth’s axis is positioned so that the sun’s rays shine directly on the equator. This creates a moment when day and night are nearly the same length all over the world. The word “equinox” comes from the Latin words aequus (meaning equal) and nox (meaning night).

1. Sun’s Position: On the equinox, the sun rises roughly in the east and sets roughly in the west for most locations. This happens because the Earth’s axis is oriented in such a way that its tilt doesn’t favor either hemisphere, allowing the sun’s rays to strike the equator directly.
2. Day and Night Equality: In most places on Earth, the equinox brings a near-perfect balance of 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. However, due to atmospheric refraction, the daylight can be a bit longer than 12 hours.
3. Seasonal Shift: The vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s the point when the days begin to get longer than the nights, ushering in warmer weather.

See related stories:

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🔗Oklahoma Forestry Service prepares firefighters for potential wildfire threats

🔗How to protect your home from wildfires: Tips from experts

🔗Oklahoma fire danger: How rural fire departments prepare for days of extreme danger

🔗Red Cross shares tips for preparing wildfires

Emergency Info: Outages Across Oklahoma:

Northeast Oklahoma has various power companies and electric cooperatives, many of which have overlapping areas of coverage. Below is a link to various outage maps.

1. PSO Outage Map
2. OG&E Outage Map
3. VVEC Outage Map
4. Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) Outage Map
5. Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Outage Map — (Note Several Smaller Co-ops Included)

The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0dCHRWMFjs4fEPKLqTLjvy

The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/oklahoma-news-from-kotv-news-on-6-in-tulsa-oklahoma/id1499556141

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