Warming Up Thursday, Friday

If you are ready for the end of winter and did not like the cold front that passed through on Monday night, bringing the return of 40s and 50s for highs and sub-freezing lows across the state, then we have good news for you. A brief warm-up is in store as we head into Thursday and Friday. This will then be followed by another approaching low pressure system and cold front from the west which will bring us a wet weekend and colder temperatures by the start of next week. But that is still a few days out, so we will focus now on what is going to happen for the next couple of days.

The “warm spots” in Oklahoma on Thursday will be the panhandle and southwest, enjoying the low-to-mid-70s for highs. Elsewhere across the state, we’ll see the 60s for highs on Thursday. The mid-to-upper-60s will stretch across the south while central and northern Oklahoma see the low-to-mid-60s. What will fuel these warm highs? Southerly winds, of course. All across Oklahoma expect calmer winds in the morning, with sustained speeds increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Skies will be clear, with some scattered clouds around. For Thursday night, we’ll have lows in the 40s across the state under partly cloudy skies. Winds will blow from the south-southeast at 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

For Friday, expect highs in the 60s everywhere across Oklahoma, more specifically, the mid-60s. (No, the graphics creator did not just become lazy on that graphic for Friday’s highs.) Highs may be just a little warmer in the panhandle, reaching the upper-60s. Skies will be partly cloudy. Southerly winds will blow at 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Beginning Friday night and lasting through Sunday, the next low pressure system moves through the state, bringing thunderstorms and the chance for a wintry mix of precipitation further north into the panhandle and extreme north central Oklahoma. Currently, the chance for wintry precipitation is low across these areas, but we will be monitoring this approaching system for any changing weather conditions. The rest of the state needs to be alert for potentially strong thunderstorms Saturday afternoon into overnight. We will update you in a couple of days about all the details when we have the latest, up-to-date information.

Sources: NWS, HOOT, Mesonet, wggb.com (photo)