Slim Rain Chances Today, Warming Up

Following a couple of days with a large swath of rainfall across central and western Oklahoma and a couple more days with scattered strong to severe thunderstorms across the state, we still have slight chances for showers and thunderstorms this afternoon.  However, chances are very slight - at no more than 20% - and will be confined primarily to southwest, south central, and southeast Oklahoma only.  The rest of the state will see mainly sunny skies.  A warming trend is also in store for this afternoon and the coming days, with high temperatures back in the 90s.  As an expanding dome of high pressure, responsible for bringing a tremendous heat wave to a great deal of the Eastern and Midwestern United States, creeps into Oklahoma, we will be dealing with humid conditions again today in central and eastern Oklahoma.  The humid conditions will result in high heat indices.  Please remember your heat safety and try to limit or avoid outdoor activity.

For this afternoon, skies will be mainly sunny with a few afternoon clouds.  Widely scattered thunderstorms may develop across southern Oklahoma and could pose threats of brief gusty winds and locally heavy downpours.  High temperatures will be back in the 90s for the core of the state; the panhandle's highs will reach the upper-80s.  The low-90s can be expected in western and central Oklahoma, and the mid-90s can be expected in eastern Oklahoma.  Heat index values will be anywhere between 95 and 105 degrees across central and eastern Oklahoma.

For tonight, lingering showers and thunderstorms may remain across the south in the early evening hours.  Otherwise, skies will be mostly clear with a rain-free night.  Lows will be in the upper-60s in the panhandle and low-to-mid-70s elsewhere.  On Friday, no rain is expected anywhere across the state until the evening hours, where a slight chance for thunderstorms is forecast in north central and northwest Oklahoma, including the panhandle, as a weak "cold" front pushes southward.  The chance for rain in these regions remains through Sunday.  Rain chances are greatest in the panhandle at 40%.  For the remainder of northwest Oklahoma and north central Oklahoma, chances are 20% at this time.  Where storms do not develop, skies will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy for the entire weekend and into the coming week.  Highs will remain steady in the low-to-mid-90s for the next few days.  Lows will be in the upper-60s in the panhandle and the low-to-mid-70s elsewhere.  By the start of the new work week, southwest Oklahoma will start to see highs rise back up into the upper-90s and reach the low-100s by midweek.  Therefore, we hope you enjoyed your brief reprieve from the heat, as our typical summer-like pattern will return.

We encourage you to check out tomorrow's blog post, as we will recap the upper-level low moving through the area by providing a map of observed rainfall totals, examining the temperature drop, and more importantly, determining how (or if) the rain has helped with the intense drought.

Sources: NWS, HOOT, Google Images/BlogSpot (photo)