Friday, March 21, 2014

Possible Rain on the Eve of Spring Break

While everyone in Oklahoma enjoys the calm warm weather, residents should expect some fluctuation starting tonight and moving into the weekend. Hopefully your spring break went well, because some colder weather is on the way.











Right now temperatures are mild across the majority of the state, with the exception of some cooler areas in the panhandle. While today was a warmer day, most of the state is currently seeing temperatures in the upper 50's in the north, and in the mid to upper 60's in the south. It is partly cloudy across the majority of the state, with the exception of some clear areas in the southwest. Winds are calm across areas around I-44, which is good news for some of the recent wildfire outbreaks that have been happening around there. 

There will be some chances for rain, and possibly even severe weather starting later tonight, particularly in the southeastern part of the state.  For this afternoon and tonight, the majority of the activity will be located in the southeast part of the state with some isolated showers and thunderstorms east of I-44 and south of OKC early on.  Areas around OKC and Norman will see 20-30 percent chances of rain this afternoon and tonight, while south near Ardmore will see around 40-50 percent chances of rain. The more southeastward areas near Hugo will see up to 60 percent chances of rain and thunderstorms. These areas will see rain with scattered thunderstorms, and the slight possibility of one of these storms being severe with small hail and frequent lightning.

Once the front moves through the entire state early Saturday it will bring cooler temperatures, cloudy skies, and rain moving further north into the state. Areas from Lawton to OKC will see higher rain chances around 40-50 percent, while the rest of the south and southeast portions will see the same kind of conditions as the night before. Moving further into Saturday, rain will start to travel eastward, and bring low 20-30 chances of rain in the McAlester and Tulsa areas. By Saturday afternoon, all rain should start to completely move out of the west half of the state. Also of note, there is a slight chance Saturday night that the panhandle could see some sort of wintry type of precipitation. Due to the front temperatures in that region will drop into the mid to upper 20’s over night and could see some effects from the incoming front. Highs for Saturday will be mid to lower 50’s for essentially the entire state, with some upper 50’s in the very southeast.


By Sunday the rain should be completely removed from Oklahoma, with a small possibility of some lingering showers in the very east part of the state. Once the front is completely moved through, temperatures will drop significantly overnight, bringing lows getting warmer from the mid 20’s in the panhandle to the low 40’s around Hugo.  The rest of the state will most likely see low’s in the mid 30’s. Skies will still be mostly cloudy and wont clear until Monday. This will keep high temperatures fairly low for this time of year, in the upper 40’s to mid 50’s across the state. As with the low temperatures, the high’s will get warmer the more southeastward you travel.

Early next week from Monday to Wednesday looks like it will be mostly the same, with temperatures not getting truly warm again until later in the week. The low morning temperatures will be cold, mostly in the mid to upper 30’s with the exception of some areas in the north seeing lows below freezing. Meanwhile, the high’s will be in the mid to upper 50’s until Wednesday when the western part of the state will see some low 60’s. Through the early part of the week skies will be mostly clear, with some higher winds on Tuesday.

Despite the low temperatures, there are some positives to take away from the incoming front. Drought conditions across the state are fairly poor, especially in the south and southwest. Any precipitation could not only help these conditions, but also reduce fires like the ones on I-44 of late. We hope you’ve enjoyed your spring break.  From all of us here at the Oklahoma Weather Lab thanks for reading and have a great day!

 
- CO

Sources: Mesonet, NWS

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