Extreme summer heat will be coming to an end as early as tomorrow for most of the state as a strong cold front associated with a trough pushes southward into Oklahoma. Today was nothing short of a scorcher as highs in the 100s stretched across parts of southwest and central Oklahoma. Oklahoma City, however, did not reach the century mark today. The official high at the airport was 99 degrees, meaning that the city still has not reached 100 degrees so far this year. The average first day for Oklahoma City to reach 100 degrees is July 9. Despite Oklahoma City not reaching 100, surrounding cities in the central Oklahoma area did. According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, Kingfisher reached a high of 100 degrees, with Norman, Shawnee, and Guthrie reaching a high of 101 degrees. More triple digit heat will not be expected in at least the next week across these regions due to the approaching cold front. Temperatures will be anywhere between 10 to 20 degrees below average!
A weaker cold front began moving across the state earlier this afternoon, prompting the development of strong to severe thunderstorms across parts of northern and central Oklahoma. These thunderstorms will slowly push towards the south and east before dissipating. Additional thunderstorm development is possible later tonight across parts of central Oklahoma.
The stronger cold front will push through beginning Monday afternoon. Ahead of the front, showers and thunderstorms are possible. A 20 to 40 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms can be expected across the entire state on Monday as the cold front approaches from Kansas. Storms will first form in northern Oklahoma, with coverage spreading south with the front later in the day and overnight. From Monday night into Tuesday, southern Oklahoma will see the best chance for rain at 40 to 60 percent. Central and northern Oklahoma's rain chances will range from 20 to 40 percent during this time period. Also arriving Monday evening and overnight Monday into Tuesday will be the cooler air. The cooler air will arrive in northern Oklahoma by early Monday evening and in central and southern Oklahoma by late Monday night into Tuesday morning.
Slight rain chances are possible throughout the day on Tuesday, but the main story will be the cooler highs across all of Oklahoma. Highs in northern Oklahoma will only reach the upper-70s. The low-80s can be expected across central Oklahoma, with the mid-to-upper-80s across southern Oklahoma. From Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, a complex of thunderstorms is expected to develop in far western Oklahoma and push towards the east. The best rain chances will be in western Oklahoma, with lesser chances farther east as the complex will weaken and dissipate. Lows Tuesday night into Wednesday morning will also be on the cool side, with temperatures dropping to the mid-to-upper-50s across northeastern Oklahoma, the low-60s across the panhandle, northwest, and central Oklahoma, and the mid-60s across all of southern Oklahoma.
The best rain chances (and the week's coolest high temperature) look to happen on Wednesday as the front stalls out near the region and a lifting mechanism supports thunderstorm development. Virtually all of the state will see a 60 to 80 percent chance for thunderstorms on Wednesday, with these higher rain chances remaining in place across southern Oklahoma Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Wednesday's high temperatures will only reach the low-70s across north central and northwestern Oklahoma, and the mid-to-upper-70s elsewhere. A few areas of extreme southern Oklahoma may manage to see highs reach the lower-80s. Wednesday night's lows will range from the low-to-mid-60s across the state, with a few upper-50s possible in the panhandle and in northeastern Oklahoma.
As the front begins to move again on Thursday, rain chances will begin to diminish for northern Oklahoma. Central and southern Oklahoma will still continue to see higher rain chances, however, and high temperatures will remain in the middle-to-upper-70s for the state. Thursday night into Friday will bring no rain chances for northern Oklahoma and diminishing rain chances for central and southern Oklahoma with low temperatures falling to the low-to-mid-60s across the state.With so many days of rainfall expected, you may be wondering how much rain will be possible. Well, the latest QPF from the Weather Prediction Center shows promising signs, with rain totals ranging from 3 to 4 inches across a majority of the state! Should this verify, this will certainly be good news for drought-stricken areas.
AC
Sources: NWS, WPC, Mesonet
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