Severe Weather on the Eve of the Blood Moon

With another front coming through towards the end of this weekend, get ready to deal with some rain,  severe weather, and much cooler than normal temperatures from Sunday into early next week. The

main severe threats for Sunday will be hail and high winds.

Tonight, temperatures will drop into the low 60's across the state due to partly cloudy skies, before warming up as the day goes on Saturday. Saturday will experience very warm temperatures, from the upper 70's in the southeast part of the state, all the way to the mid to upper 80's in the northwest and Panhandle regions. Saturday will also experience partly cloudy skies, with some breezy South winds up to 30 mph across the state. These types of conditions will bring optimal conditions for wildfires, and a high fire danger warning, so be on the lookout. The western half of the state will also see some slight chances of rain, but only around 20%.

Cloudy skies will keep temperatures warm overnight, and the clouds will persist throughout the day on Sunday. A front will start to move through Oklahoma early on Sunday, and will bring with it cooler temperatures, and rain throughout the majority of the state.

Sunday Rain

Northwest/Panhandle: These regions will see rain chances of around 40%, with higher chances the further East you travel. These areas will most likely not see any kind of significant severe weather, or high amounts of rainfall. There will be a large temperature gradient from the Panhandle to the Northwest due to the timing of the front. The Panhandle will see high temperatures in the mid 50's, and the Northwest, Woodward areas will see temperatures in the mid to upper 60's. 

Southwest: These regions will see similar rain chances of around 30-40%. If these areas do see rainfall, it would also most likely not be anything severe, but they could see slightly more rain than the Northwest. The Southwest will see high temperatures in the mid 70's for Sunday.

Southeast: The southeast portion of the state will see its highest chance for rain Sunday night rather than during the day. Sunday, the chances will be around 50-60%, while overnight this could increase to 70-80%. The eastern half of the state also has the highest chance for severe weather, with the biggest threat being high winds and hail. This region will see high temperatures in the low to mid 70's. Rainfall accumulation will be half an inch in some areas.

Northeast: The northeast part of the state will see very similar rainfall chances as the Southeast, with chances around 70-80% throughout the day and early on Sunday night. Since the front will be moving southeastward, rain will move out of this area faster than it will in the southeast portion of the state. This area will see similar severe chances and rainfall accumulation as the southeast. Temperatures for Sunday will be in the mid 70's.

Central: For the Norman, OKC areas rain chances will be around 60% for the day, but will drop quickly late afternoon/early evening. Rainfall accumulation will most likely be around a quarter of an inch, but this could possibly increase up to a half an inch in some areas. While there will be some chances for severe weather, they will not be as high as in the eastern half of the state. Temperatures will be in the mid 70's for Sunday.

Severe Probabilities: Most of the severe weather will be located in the eastern half of the state with about a 30% chance of that entire area seeing severe weather. Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be a high chance for tornadoes on Sunday; the main threat will be large hail up to golf ball size, and strong winds with possible gusts of 70 mph.  The central part of the state also has some chances of severe weather, with about a 20-25 percent chance in the Norman, OKC area. 

Once the front moves through Sunday, chilly temperatures will start to move through the area, and bring low's in the upper 30's to low 40's Monday morning, with some extreme lows below freezing in the Panhandle. There is a possibility of some lingering rain from the front throughout the state at about 20%. There will also be a very small shortwave front that lingers over the Panhandle early Monday that could bring some small showers. Most of Oklahoma will see mostly cloudy skies for Monday, especially early in the day, which will keep temperatures very cool for this time of the year. Most of the state will see high temperatures in the mid to upper 40's, with the eastern half of Oklahoma seeing high's in the low 50's. 

The rest of the week temperatures will slowly start to warm up to the low to upper 60's as the week progresses. Monday night into Tuesday morning will have clear skies that will cause low temperatures to be right around freezing throughout the state. 

On an interesting side note, there will be a Lunar Eclipse Monday night around 2-3 a.m., so take advantage of that amazing astronomical event! Much of Oklahoma is still under drought, with much of the Western half of the state under exceptional drought. Unfortunately, this front is not expected to bring much rain to these areas, so they will most likely not improve.

Make sure to take precautions in the case of any severe weather event, and enjoy the warmth and sunshine on Saturday before it cools down. From all of us here at the Oklahoma Weather Lab thanks for reading and have a great day!

Sources: NWS, SPC, Mesonet, Spaceweather.com

- CO, TW