Strong Cold Front to Usher in Cooler Air Next Week

News has quickly been spreading about an upper-level trough that will bring unusually cool air to the Plains and Midwest next week.  What you're hearing is true.  A strong cold front as a result of the trough will bring a major temperature swing from this weekend into the middle of next week as very warm summer-like temperatures turn into those reminiscent of early fall across Oklahoma and range 10 to 20 degrees below normal.  Some areas could even flirt with some record lows on a couple mornings.  It's a good thing this cold front is happening during the summer; a similar pattern setup during the winter would likely bring a winter storm and a prolonged period of below-freezing temperatures to much of the state.  Luckily, we're still a few months away from something like this happening.

While the thought of cooler temperatures probably sounds nice, we will first need to make it through a couple of days of summer heat this weekend before the upper-level ridge moves out and the trough moves in.  Under mainly sunny skies, high temperatures on Saturday and Sunday will range from the mid-to-upper-90s, although we cannot rule out a possibility of a few low-100s on Sunday across parts of southwest Oklahoma and even the Oklahoma City metro.  If the high does reach 100 degrees in Oklahoma City, it will be the first recorded 100-degree day of the year.  While western Oklahoma has been accustomed to 100-degree days for a couple of months now, central and eastern Oklahoma have yet to reach 100 this year.  Even if air temperatures do not reach the 100s, heat indices will break the triple-digit mark across much of central and southern Oklahoma.  Expect heat index values to range from 100 to 105 degrees in these regions with heat indices ranging 95 to 100 degrees elsewhere.  Remember your heat safety tips!

Monday brings the first day of slight heat relief to Oklahoma as the cold front begins to move through.  While southern Oklahoma will see no change and high temperatures still reaching the upper-90s, central and northern Oklahoma will see highs "cool" to the low-to-mid-90s.  The panhandle will see highs in the upper-80s.  Monday night into Tuesday morning is really when the cooler air will be noticeable.  While summertime lows are typically in the low-to-mid-70s across the state, Tuesday morning will bring lows in the low-to-mid-60s for northern and central Oklahoma.  Southern Oklahoma will continue to see lows in the low-70s.  Tuesday afternoon will bring even cooler daytime highs behind the front with temperatures ranging from the upper-70s across far northern Oklahoma to the low-80s across central Oklahoma and the mid-to-upper-80s across southern Oklahoma.

Tuesday night into Wednesday morning will bring lows even cooler than the previous day, and some record lows could be broken.  Lows will range from the mid-to-upper-50s across northeastern Oklahoma, the upper-50s to low-60s across the panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma, and the low-to-mid-60s across the central and southern Oklahoma.  Daytime highs will also be the coolest of the week, ranging from the mid-70s across northern Oklahoma to the upper-70s across central Oklahoma to the low-80s across southern Oklahoma.  Wednesday night into Thursday morning will also bring cool low temperatures into the 50s and 60s again.  While afternoon temperatures Thursday will be slightly warmer than those on Wednesday, it is going to take a few days for both the high and low temperatures to rebound back to near normal levels.  As of right now, all of next week's temperatures look to be below average.

The cold front will also bring increased chances for rain across the state beginning Monday, and precipitation amounts will be healthy, especially across central and western Oklahoma (see the latest Weather Prediction Center 7-Day QPF here).  At this time, rain chances are greatest on Monday across central and northern Oklahoma and greatest on Monday night and Tuesday across central and southern Oklahoma.  Rain chances will continue throughout the entire week, with skies staying generally cloudy.  At this time, Wednesday and Thursday look to be the best days for rain chances across Oklahoma.

AC

Sources: NWS, WPC, CPC, Mesonet