A Tale of Two Seasons

Temperatures are very summer-like right now with portions of Oklahoma already reaching into the 90s. A few 90s may creep into the central part of the state later today. Tomorrow will be a tad cooler, but still nice with temperatures in the mid 80s under partly cloudy skies. Wednesday will start warm with temperatures rising to near 80 in the afternoon. A strong cold front will move through Wednesday night-Thursday morning. Thunderstorms (a few could be strong) are possible Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning. Thursday will start well below average with the morning lows in the upper 30s. Some models want to bring in a few snow flurries Thursday morning for a lot of Oklahoma. High temperatures Thursday will struggle to reach 50. Friday morning will be cold with temperatures in the 30s to start the day, but rebounding nicely in the afternoon for high temperatures in the mid to upper 50s.

Pleasant Weekend in Store

Thunderstorms, and associated severe weather, have moved out of the state. For most of us in central and eastern Oklahoma, we are seeing cloudy skies with temperatures remaining on the chilly side, in the 50s and low-60s. For the far west, skies have cleared, and temperatures are on the rise. We also have warm temperatures, already in the 70s, in far southeastern Oklahoma.

Severe Weather Possible Tonight

Heads up: The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is outlining most of the core of the state for a slight risk of severe thunderstorms tonight. This means that conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms this evening. Large hail will be the primary threat, but we cannot rule out strong, damaging winds and the possibility of a tornado. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH has now been issued for parts of central and western Oklahoma. Therefore, if your Friday night plans have you outside tonight, please keep an eye on the sky and have a plan should severe weather strike.

More Rain on the Way

Unfortunately, showers and thunderstorms may wash out your Friday plans. A weak cold front will push across the state tonight and tomorrow, bringing with it showers and high temperatures that are up to 10 degrees cooler than they were today, mainly across central and eastern Oklahoma only. Western Oklahoma will remain warm. By the weekend, lingering showers and thunderstorms in the east should move out by Saturday afternoon, and skies will be partly cloudy with spring-like temperatures.

Colder, Wetter Weather on the Way

Here we go again. The warm temperatures arrived just in time for the weekend. They’ll stick around for Monday. Then, oh yes, another cold front sweeps across the state Monday night through Tuesday, bringing us much colder temperatures, rain, and even some winter weather to northwest Oklahoma and the panhandle. Fortunately, we do not expect this next "cold blast" to last for too long; warmer weather should return by mid-week.

Following Chilly Morning, Pleasant Weekend

As clouds cleared overnight, Oklahoma was left with very chilly temperatures this morning. In much of the western part of the state, lows were well below the freezing mark. In the central and east, lows at or just slightly above freezing were recorded. These chilly lows are not common for mid-April. In fact, a RECORD LOW was set at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport this morning. The temperature dropped to 33°, which broke the old record of 35°, set back in 1953. You can scroll down to see a larger version of the above graphic, depicting the low temperatures recorded across the state Friday morning.

Numerous FREEZE, HARD FREEZE Warnings Issued

UPDATE: Freezing to sub-freezing temperatures will plague the state Friday morning. For this reason, the National Weather Service has issued freeze warnings and hard freeze warnings for a great deal of the state. Per the National Weather Service, a freeze warning means that freezing temperatures will occur. A hard freeze warning means that sub-freezing temperatures are imminent or highly likely. Temperatures in most cases will be near or set new record lows tomorrow morning. With us being almost a month into spring, a late-season freeze such as this will kill plants and sensitive vegetation left outside or not covered. Please take precautionary measures to protect your plants and crops NOW!

ALERT: Severe Weather Threat is NOW!

A dangerous situation is unfolding across Oklahoma. Following the development and progression of a warm front this morning, very warm, moist air continually surging northward from the Gulf of Mexico will interact with cold, arctic air moving eastward. A dryline will form in western Texas today and also move east, prompting the development of thunderstorms with a triple threat: tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds. The capping inversion has vanished in central and southern Oklahoma and is expected to weaken later this afternoon and tonight in north central Oklahoma, supporting the development of powerful thunderstorms. NOW is the time to prepare!

LATEST: Next Cold Front Brings Severe, Winter Weather

We all know how last week went. Sunny skies with spring-like temperatures dominated Monday and Tuesday, but by Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon, a powerful cold front swept across the state, bringing not only sub-freezing temperatures in most places but also a large swath of freezing rain and wintry precipitation to the state. Unfortunately, we have the same pattern set-up for this week as yet another trough, allowing cold, arctic air to surge southward, forms in the west and progresses east, interacting with the warm, moist air surging northward from the Gulf of Mexico. This persistent pattern will bring us another chance for severe weather, provided there is no capping inversion, which is an increase in temperature with height, thus inhibiting thunderstorm development. The severe weather threat lasts through Wednesday. Then, we have more chances for wintry weather in the northwest and central Oklahoma Wednesday night into Thursday. So we regret to inform you of this, but spring is still being stubborn and will not manage to hold on for much longer than a week at a time.

Déjà Vu Weather This Week

UPDATED 4/15/13 at 2:00 PM CDT

We all know how last week went. Sunny skies with spring-like temperatures dominated Monday and Tuesday, but by Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon, a powerful cold front swept across the state, bringing not only sub-freezing temperatures in most places but also a large swath of freezing rain and wintry precipitation to the state. Unfortunately, we have the same pattern set-up for this week as yet another trough, allowing cold, arctic air to surge southward, forms in the west and progresses east, interacting with the warm, moist air surging northward from the Gulf of Mexico. This persistent pattern will bring us another chance for severe weather, provided there is no capping inversion, which is an increase in temperature with height, thus inhibiting thunderstorm development. The severe weather threat lasts through Wednesday. Then, we have more chances for wintry weather in the northwest and central Oklahoma Wednesday night into Thursday. So we regret to inform you of this, but spring is still being stubborn and will not manage to hold on for much longer than a week at a time.

Warmer This Weekend, Some Rain Possible

Following a powerful cold front, brining a large swath of winter weather and spotty severe weather across the state on Wednesday and Thursday, skies have cleared, and temperatures are slowly beginning to rebound. We encourage you to check out the summary of this event, provided by the National Weather Service local forecasting office in Norman, by clicking HERE. For this weekend, expect much warmer conditions, especially on Sunday, with spotty showers developing tonight into Saturday morning. On Sunday, skies will be mostly sunny, with strong southerly winds fueling very warm highs.

LATEST: From Severe Weather to Winter Weather

The Storm Prediction Center has lifted the moderate risk, but that does not mean that severe storms are not likely! Beginning this evening, and continuing through the overnight hours, residents across Oklahoma must be on the lookout for severe thunderstorms, some of which may produce tornadoes. The large CAP, which prevented severe thunderstorm development in Oklahoma yesterday, is vanishing. A slight risk for severe thunderstorms continues to stretch across the central and eastern part of the state. Primary threats from developing storms will be damaging winds, large hail, and still possibly tornadoes. Now is the time to prepare!

ALERT: Severe Weather Threat Ahead!

Heads up! A widespread outbreak of severe weather is expected to impact the central and southern Plains through Wednesday of this week. In the desert southwest, a deep trough will form. To the east of this trough, southerly winds will allow warm, humid air near the surface to flow from the Gulf of Mexico northward to the affected region. As the trough moves eastward, we will have the cold, dry air as a part of the trough overtake the warm, humid air, thus providing a perfect scenario for severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes. Currently, we have a sharp dryline, a line separating dry air with moist air, in place over the Oklahoma panhandle. This dryline will slowly push eastward but will eventually be overtaken by the strong cold front as a result of the trough by early Wednesday. Following the severe weather on Monday and Tuesday, the result of the cold front will be more unseasonably cool temperatures, especially low temperatures, which will drop near or well-below the freezing mark for a great deal of the state by Friday morning.

Pleasant Weekend Ahead, Severe Weather Next Week

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.