From One Extreme to Another

We can see nearly any kind of weather throughout the country in March. Aside from hurricanes, March can bring snowstorms, tornado outbreaks, cold and heat waves along with howling winds. The hard-hit Ohio Valley went from one extreme to another. After the unusually early tornado outbreak last Friday, many devastated communities lie under a blanket of snow. It's just a reminder there is a strong battle of air masses this time of year with a very active jet stream.

Here in Oklahoma, we'll go from one extreme to another this week. In our case, it means the wind and warmth will give way to cooler, much wetter conditions. Our near-term concern is the critical fire danger. Dry vegetation, low relative humidity values, and wind will all contribute to dangerous wildfire conditions through Tuesday afternoon. In fact, we are expecting a very tight pressure gradient to form between high pressure to our east and a deep surface trough along the lee of the Rockies. Winds may gust over 40 mph in response to this as temperatures soar well into the 70s. If you don't mind the wind, the weather will be absolutely gorgeous the next couple days. It definitely feels like spring!

Our budding plants could use a nice soaking rainfall. Not only will that reduce the fire danger in the near-term, but the long-term drought may finally be reduced as a slow-moving, but strong storm system forms to our southwest. A heavy rain event may be setting up for Green Country from Thursday on into the weekend. The details of the timing and position of this system aren't solidified and will also determine our severe weather threat. For now, most of our region appears to be too far north to be in the unstable air mass. Strong thunderstorms still appear likely though.

The map above shows the 5-day predicted rainfall from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. 2-4" of rain may fall… hopefully not all at once. Needless to say, enjoy the sunshine while it's out because a series of dreary, wet days lies ahead of us.

Our extremes won't be as drastic the Ohio Valley is seeing, but this is a volatile time of year, and we can't let our guard down for any kind of weather in Oklahoma. Be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and "like" me on Facebook!