Oklahoma! Where it's Colder than Sochi, Russia

The past couple of weeks have been filled with snow and bitterly cold temperatures, and unfortunately for Oklahoma, the next few days won't be much better. Although hope is on the horizon late next week, the conditions within the next few days, especially early next week, will bring sub-freezing temperatures along with some snow chances.




Right now most of the winter precipitation has moved out of Western and Central Oklahoma completely, with the only precipitation being some light snow in the southeast portion of the state. By tonight all precipitation should be out of Oklahoma, and while it will be very cold tonight across the state, tomorrow will bring slightly warmer weather, especially in the southeast part of the state where temperatures will be in the mid 40's. This is compared to the rest of the state where temperatures will mostly range from the mid to upper 30's in the north and central parts of the state, and low 40's in the panhandle. Once Sunday arrives though, temperatures will drop back down to the 20's and thirties everywhere except in the southeast part of the state, which could see temperatures in the mid 40's again, maybe even 50 around the Hugo area.

While the weekend will bring slightly more pleasant weather than the past weeks, it is not expected to continue. While Monday and Tuesday having similar temperatures in the low 30's, a cold front will move through on Monday, bringing chances of snow across the state mostly for Monday night into Tuesday. The south and central parts of the state will have the best chances for snow and snow accumulation, however the uncertainty is still very high at this point, and the probability of snow is still decently low. The good news is that after this front moves through, the temperatures are predicted to rise dramatically for Thursday, and into the weekend. Although it is still pretty far out to say with certainty, right now temperatures are predicted to rise from the 30's to 40's on Thursday, and then into the 50's for Friday and the weekend.

Keep in mind that through tonight and the weekend, the low temperatures overnight are expected to be in the upper teens and 20's, with some pretty strong winds around 20 miles per hour expected every day except Saturday. That being said, some mornings may have Wind Chill Advisories, so be prepared and stay warm!

Across the Nation

Many states in the midwest and northeast were hammered with snow this past week, some receiving up to a foot of snow. Unfortunately for the country the winter weather is not going to stop now, with Winter Storm Orion expected to bring large amounts of snow in the Northwest. Areas like Washington state could receive over 2 feet of snow during the storm, and across the northwest at least 6 inches is expected.

Across the Globe

One of the big events to keep an eye out for during the next couple of weeks is the start of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. According to NASA, Sochi is the warmest city ever to host the Winter Olympics, and many are concerned there may not be enough snowfall on the ground. To paint a picture of what the conditions are like in Sochi, the forecast for next week is temperatures in the mid to upper 50's, and winds are always very mild. So, despite sharing the same latitude as Southern Canada, Sochi is having a much warmer winter than Oklahoma is. The Russians can thank the Black Sea and its warm sea breeze effect for that.  While the lack of snow is concerning, all of the horror stories coming out of Russia point out that they may be the least of everyone's concerns for these Olympics.



- CO

Sources: The Weather Channel, Mesonet, NWS, Accuweather, NASA