Soaking (but beneficial) rains, which were also accompanied by extremely cold temperatures, plagued Oklahoma over the past couple of days. Rainfall totals from this system are greatest mainly across central Oklahoma, totaling between 2 and 4 inches. A couple of stations in southeast Oklahoma reported over 4 inches! You can see a map depicting the totals, courtesy of the Oklahoma Mesonet, to the right. Now that the rain and cold temperatures have exited the state, you can enjoy clearer skies and much warmer temperatures on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 
On Friday, areas of fog may develop across central Oklahoma in the early morning. By late morning, the fog should lift, and skies will be mostly sunny for the remainder of the day. Friday’s highs will be much more spring-like. We’ll see the low-70s across most of the state, but highs in the panhandle will soar to the low-80s. Light winds will blow in the morning, but expect breezy conditions by the afternoon. Southerly winds will blow between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. In the panhandle, we may see stronger wind speeds between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Luckily, highs will be warmer, so we do not have to worry about any dangerously cold wind chill values.
For Friday night, expect partly cloudy skies with lows in the low-to-mid-50s across most of the state, with some mid-to-upper-40s invading the panhandle. Wind speeds remain relatively strong in the panhandle, blowing from the south at 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Elsewhere, southerly winds will blow between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
On Saturday, skies will be partly cloudy, with highs getting warmer across the core of the state. Expect the low-80s in southwest Oklahoma. We’ll have the mid-to-upper-70s elsewhere. Perhaps in the extreme western portion of the panhandle, highs may only top out in the upper-60s. Breezy conditions persist. A south-southwest wind will blow between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. For Saturday night, expect partly cloudy skies with lows in the 50s across central, southern, and eastern Oklahoma and lows in the 40s in northwest Oklahoma and the panhandle. Winds should calm down a bit, blowing from the south between 5 and 15 mph and gusting as high as 20 mph.
For Sunday, expect partly cloudy skies across the state. There is a chance for thunderstorms across the central, northern, and eastern part of the state. Chances are greatest in northern Oklahoma. Highs will be cooler in parts of the east, topping out in the upper-60s. Otherwise, we’ll have the 70s towards the west, with some low-80s in the southwest and far west. Winds will continue to be from the south, blowing between 5 and 15 mph. For the start of the new work week, Monday and Tuesday, we are watching very closely the potential for a significant severe weather outbreak across parts of the central and southern Plains as the “ingredients” all come together. The Storm Prediction Center has already outlined an area of elevated risk, which includes central and western Kansas and far northern Oklahoma. As this outbreak is still a few days out, this outlined area is highly likely to change. Therefore, we encourage you to check back with the SPC and OWL very frequently between now and then. You can see the latest convective outlooks from the SPC, outlining the areas of elevated risk for severe weather, by clicking HERE. With damaging winds and hail being the primary threats, isolated tornadoes are also possible with this outbreak, waking us up after an unusually inactive March in terms of the number of tornadoes. Therefore, we encourage you to be alert and have a plan should severe weather strike. We will update you in a few days with the latest information on the severe weather. For now, have a safe and fun weekend!
Sources: NWS, HOOT, Mesonet, fineartamerica.com (photo)
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