Oklahoma's First Heat Wave is on the Way

After a week of cool temperatures, rain, and severe weather across the country, Oklahoma will now experience extremely hot and dry conditions for the weekend and into next week. While today the high was only in the mid 70's, Sunday and onward will see high temperatures well into the 90's, and possibly up to 100 for some areas of Oklahoma.








Tonight, temperatures will cool down all the way into the upper 40's across the state due to very clear skies overnight allowing for some cooling. However, it will warm up immensely starting the following morning.

Saturday: Saturday will see very warm temperatures and clear skies throughout the state. The entire state will see temperatures right around 90, with the exception of some cooler areas in the Northeast in the upper 80's, and warmer areas in the low 90's in the Southwest. There could be gusts up to 25 mph, so that along with very dry air will give a very high fire danger warning. Saturday night will see clear skies and temperatures around 60.

Sunday: Sunday temperatures will continue to rise and well surpass the high's from the previous day. Sunday's highs will vary, becoming warmer the farther west you go. The Eastern half of the state will see temperatures right around 90, the central in the low to mid 90's, and the Western part of the state will see temperatures in the mid to upper 90's with some areas hitting 100. Conditions will be very clear and dry, with wind gusts up to 35 mph. This will give Sunday perfect conditions for an extreme fire danger warning. Sunday night will also see clear skies, and temperatures will drop down to the mid 60's.


Monday: Monday will be will be similar to Tuesday, with just barely low temperatures, but with the same type of temperature gradient. The East will see high's in the upper 80's, Central areas of the state will see temperatures in the low to mid 90's, and the West will see temperatures in the mid to upper 90's. Monday will be sunny, and very windy with gusts up to 30 mph, and very high fire danger warnings. It will continue to be clear and dry overnight, with low temperatures dropping to the mid 60's.

Tuesday: Tuesday will almost identical as Monday, with the same temperatures, and with the possibility of some very light cloud cover, but still mostly sunny. Overnight temperatures will drop down into the upper 60's.

Wednesday and Beyond: Wednesday will be the first day of next week that temperatures are expected to start cooling down, and with a small chance for thunderstorms. Highs will be in the upper 80's in the East and Central parts of the state, and in the low 90's for the Western half of the state. There will be a 20% chance of thunderstorms for the day. The rest of the week will continue to start cooling down, and will also see some small chances for thunderstorms.

The big thing to pay attention to this weekend and next week will be to be prepared for the upcoming heat wave, and keep an eye out for fire danger warnings. This heat wave will also continue to put areas of Oklahoma under severe and extreme drought, and many areas in the South and West parts of the state are starting to see drastic effects from the lack of precipitation in these areas. On the bright side, the country will get a break from the recent wave of storms and tornadoes, as the entire country is expected to avoid seeing severe storms for the next few days.

This will be the last blog for the Spring Semester, so from all of us here at the Oklahoma Weather Lab, thanks for reading and supporting us for the entire semester, and we hope you have a great weekend and summer!

Sources: NWS, Mesonet, U.S. Drought Monitor



- CO