Winter Weather Update

UPDATED 5:55 PM CST
Greetings from a snow-covered state!  After a couple of rounds of winter weather that occurred Friday and today, all of Oklahoma is currently covered with some form of wintry precipitation.  The heaviest of precipitation is beginning to wind down, but this does not mean the end of the precipitation.  Here we have an update on what you can expect in the coming days.

Rest of Today/Tonight
The heaviest precipitation is currently exiting the state to the north and east, where some snow is occurring to the north and freezing rain to the south and east.  Elsewhere, areas of freezing drizzle continue across central Oklahoma and will persist off and on through the afternoon and evening.  The freezing drizzle has already created a thin layer of ice on surfaces and over the previously-fallen snow, causing the snow the become crunchy instead of remaining the soft powder from yesterday.  This does not improve travel conditions whatsoever, so continue to stay off the roads if possible.

Later this evening and overnight, the freezing drizzle may intensify slightly to a light freezing rain, causing more ice accumulation.  However, additional ice accumulations will remain at a glaze to no more than a tenth of an inch, with the highest accumulations of ice across north central and northeastern Oklahoma.  The best chances for any wintry precipitation tonight are across central and eastern Oklahoma at 50% or greater.  Across western Oklahoma and the panhandle, precipitation chances are 40% or less.

Temperatures will remain fairly steady through the remainder of the afternoon and evening.  That is, through Sunday morning, expect temperatures to be in the upper-20s to low-30s across southern Oklahoma, the mid-to-upper-20s across central Oklahoma, and the low-to-mid-20s across northern Oklahoma.  Temperatures may even warm by a degree or two through the overnight hours as more warm air is transported into the region.













The WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has now been extended until 6 AM CST Sunday.  Please continue to exercise extreme caution is you must travel.

Sunday
From central Oklahoma eastward, expect a 30 to 60 percent chance for freezing rain and drizzle early Sunday morning lasting through noon, with temperatures in the upper-20s to low-30s.  Western Oklahoma and the panhandle will see only a 20% chance of light freezing rain and freezing drizzle during this time period.  By noon Sunday, temperatures will begin to rise to and just above freezing across southern and central Oklahoma.  Due to the snow pack, high temperatures on Sunday will be cooler than previously predicted.  The freezing line will stop south of northern Oklahoma on Sunday such that highs will remain below freezing for northern Oklahoma all day on Sunday.  This means that any further precipitation that falls north of the freezing line will be ice, while any precipitation that falls south of the freezing line will be a cold, liquid rain that will begin to melt any snow and ice.  High temperatures on Sunday will range from the low-to-mid-40s across southern Oklahoma, the mid-to-upper-30s across central Oklahoma, the upper-20s to low-30s across northern Oklahoma, and the mid-30s across the panhandle.  Precipitation chances are highest in the morning, although some rain may occur into the afternoon hours across central and eastern Oklahoma.

Monday
On Sunday night and into Monday morning, temperatures will fall below the freezing mark again across all but southern Oklahoma.  With moisture still in place, a slight chance for freezing rain exists Monday morning before temperatures rise above freezing for the day.  Monday afternoon will remain dry across western Oklahoma, with slight chances for rain across central and eastern Oklahoma that continue and may increase into Monday night.  Highs will rise to the upper-30s across extreme northern Oklahoma and the low-to-mid-40s elsewhere.

Tuesday
Ready for a complete "180" on Tuesday?  Forget winter.  Forget snow.  It's time for spring and thunderstorms.  Across central and eastern Oklahoma, a 30 to 60 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms exists Tuesday.  Highs will "soar" to the mid-to-upper-60s across extreme southern Oklahoma, the upper-50s to low-60s across central Oklahoma, and the low-to-mid-50s across northern Oklahoma and the panhandle.  Winter may become a distant memory by this point, but don't let this fool you.

Wednesday
Another cold front pushes through the state Tuesday (a driver for the thunderstorms), and we may see another chance for snow on Wednesday.  The best chance for any wintry precipitation will be in northeastern Oklahoma, but this is very far out into the future, so we'll bring updates as we get them. Highs on Wednesday will be back down into the 30s for most of the state, with the 40s across southern Oklahoma.

Friday-Saturday Snow Recap

Despite very dry air in the low-levels of the atmosphere Friday morning, the atmosphere moistened, bringing one round of snow to the state through Friday evening, then another round of snow Friday overnight into Saturday morning.  Veering winds, however, caused warmer air to be transported into the region, with snow transitioning to a light freezing rain/freezing drizzle by noon.  The National Weather Service in Norman, OK has provided a preliminary snowfall totals map from the past two days.  You can also check the snowfall depth map from this morning, showing that the entire state of Oklahoma is covered in snow.  Note: The depth map was valid as of 06 UTC (12 AM CST) Saturday and therefore does not account for any of the snowfall from this morning.  Thus, the depths may be inaccurate, but the map still shows that snowfall covered the entire state at that time.

AC

Sources: NWS Amarillo, NWS Norman, NWS Tulsa, HOOT, Mesonet