Monday Morning Update

Good morning.  We're dealing with extremely low temperatures this morning including wind chill values in the sub-zero range for the next several hours.  We'll have a few chances of precipitation Wednesday and Friday.  There could be some light wintry precip Wednesday night into Thursday morning across far NE OK but this will more than likely remain east of the Tulsa area. Most of the precip chances will center on the liquid variety.  

The weekend snow and cold air will continue to keep the air mass frigid both today and tomorrow before the shallow arctic air slides eastward and modifies quickly.  But the short term will feature a strong arctic surface ridge of high pressure building across northern OK this morning.  This will keep the sky mostly clear and the temps very cold.  Surface temps will be in the lower single digits but wind chill values could easily range from -10 to -20 across part of northern Ok and southeastern Kansas.  We do have a large area included in wind chill advisories this morning and a few counties northeast of Tulsa included in wind chill warnings.  You are encouraged to limit outside activities this morning through the midday time period and make sure you are totally covered.  Layers of clothing will add warmth.  Exposed skin could develop frost bite in less than 20 to 30 minutes this morning with some of the expected wind chill values.  Afternoon temps will range from 15 to 18 degrees today with mostly sunny conditions along with north winds near 5 to 10 mph.   

The surface ridge of pressure will quickly move eastward after Tuesday morning with southwest winds increasing during the afternoon.  Tuesday morning lows in the single digits to near 10 will move into the upper 30s or lower 40s with increasing clouds Tuesday afternoon.  Moisture is expected to return across eastern OK Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with some light drizzle possible during the pre-dawn Wednesday period.  If this occurs, some freezing drizzle would be possible resulting in a few slick spots.  The overall chance of this occurrence is relatively low, but this will require a probability on the map. 

By Wednesday additional moisture will arrive with increasing rain chances from Wednesday afternoon into the evening hours.  The temp profile Wednesday night into Thursday could support some snow but mainly across far NE Ok and SE Kansas into SW Missouri.  This would remain east of the Tulsa area, but we may still be in the running for some light precip.   

Thursday into Friday we'll have a weak boundary nearby with the potential for another wind shift into the state and a short lived cool down.  Friday into the weekend the pattern presents a chance for increasing temps and a chance for some rain during the day Friday.  By the weekend this system will be well east of the state and we'll keep Saturday and Sunday dry.   

The official high in Tulsa yesterday was 29 recorded at 12:06am.

The normal daily average high is 47 and the low is 27. 

Our daily records include a high of 74 from 2008 and a low of 0 from 2008. 

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Have a super great day! 

Alan Crone

KOTV