Warming Up, With Rain By Late Week

Unseasonably cold temperatures have plagued Oklahoma over the past few days. For some returning spring breakers, a harsh reality check played out as highs sank into the 30s and 40s. This was all due to a strong cold front associated with a trough, or dip in the jet stream, allowing arctic air from the north to sweep down into the state. Thankfully, as the jet stream begins to move further north, a warm-up is in store for the remainder of the week, allowing spring-like temperatures to return in time for the weekend. However, the warm temperatures may come with a price. We are also expecting a wet weekend as showers and thunderstorms develop by late week.

Before we talk about the warm-up, we need to warn you that Tuesday morning’s lows will be quite bitter across all of the state and well-below freezing as high pressure builds over the area. In the southeast, lows will be in the mid-to-upper-20s. The coldest lows will occur in the panhandle, dropping down to the mid-to-upper-teens! Across the rest of Oklahoma, expect lows in the low-to-mid-20s. These sub-freezing temperatures may harm sensitive vegetation, so be sure to move any sensitive plants inside or cover them if they must remain outside.

Now let us talk about the good news that you have probably been waiting for. Following the unseasonably cold temperatures over the past few days, a warm-up is in sight as we head into the end of the week and weekend. But we will need to wait one more day. Tuesday will be somewhat warmer but still below average across the state. Highs will reach the 50s across the west, central, and southern Oklahoma. But for the northeast part of the state, the 40s remain for another day. Even in Kansas and parts of Missouri and Arkansas, highs will not break out of the 30s. Skies will be sunny to partly cloudy across Oklahoma on Tuesday. Northerly winds will blow between 5 and 15 mph. In western Oklahoma, winds may gust up to 20 mph.

For Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, skies will be mostly clear, and lows drop down into the mid-to-upper-30s (except for northeast Oklahoma, where lows remain in the upper-20s to low-30s). Then on Wednesday, highs finally warm up to more comfortable levels. The 60s will stretch across most of the state. The northeast will remain cooler, with highs topping out in the upper-50s. The southeast will be a little warmer, with highs reaching the low-70s. Expect mostly sunny skies during the day. The winds will pick up, blowing from the south at 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

For Wednesday night into Thursday morning, expect lows in the 30s and 40s. Cloud cover will begin to increase. On Thursday, expect a slight chance for showers across the entire state with skies being partly to mostly cloudy. With the exception of the northeast, expect slightly cooler high temperatures. The 50s will invade the panhandle and extreme northern Oklahoma. The 60s will be elsewhere, but mid-60s experienced by most areas on Wednesday will turn into low-60s on Thursday. The far southwest may still see highs in the low-70s.

Friday is a day we are watching out for potentially heavy rainfall as showers and thunderstorms develop across the state. Locally heavy rainfall in these storms could total over an inch in central southeastern Oklahoma. This is still far out, though, so expect the forecast to change in the coming days. We will be sure to keep you updated. As far as the temperatures are concerned, expect highs in the 60s across the state, with some 70s in the far southwest.

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