Weather Blog: A Chilly Fall Morning Quickly Brings Above Normal Highs This Afternoon

What is today's forecast?

A high-pressure ridge over the Missouri Valley is bringing cool and crisp conditions to northern Oklahoma this morning.

Clear skies, light winds, and very dry air will see temperatures fall into the 40s in many valley locations across northeastern OK, with some areas in southern Oklahoma reaching the lower 50s. For many, this will mark the coolest morning of the early fall season.

As the day progresses, the dry air will warm up, leading to daytime highs in the mid-80s in the north and upper-80s in the south. Winds will shift from the south at 5 to 12 mph today, increasing to 10 to 20 mph tomorrow.

What is the forecast for the rest of the week?

Thursday morning temperatures will reach the lower 60s for the metro area and upper 50s in the valleys.

Daytime highs on Thursday will move back into the lower 90s.

This warming trend is expected to continue from Friday through Sunday, with temperatures remaining above seasonal averages.

A weak boundary will approach northern Oklahoma on Friday morning but is expected to stall or dissipate quickly. There may be a brief wind shift on Friday across the northern areas, but winds should return by the afternoon and persist through the weekend, maintaining higher-than-average temperatures.

Data indicates another front approaching on Sunday will gradually move southward, clearing most of the region by late Sunday night into early Monday morning. This will bring slightly cooler weather, closer to seasonal averages for the early part of next week.

However, due to the dry lower levels of the atmosphere and the position of stronger flow well north of the region, no precipitation is expected with this front. Our dry and worsening drought conditions are expected to persist for most, if not all next week. 

Football Gametime Weather:

The kickoff forecast for Friday Night Football games in northern Oklahoma will start at 86 and South winds at 10 mph with halftime temperatures near 79. By the end of the game, temperatures will be near 74 with south winds at 5 to 10 mph under clear sky.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane welcomes Army to Tulsa Saturday morning for an 11 AM kickoff. Tailgating will be cool and mostly in the 70s. Kickoff at 11:00 AM features a temperature of 79. By the end of the game, temperatures will be approaching 92 with sunshine and south winds at 10 mph.

West Virginia travels to Stillwater to play the Cowboys at 3:00 PM Saturday. Tailgating will be in the mid-80s but the kickoff forecast will be near 91 with south winds at 10 mph. The upper 80s will be expected by the end of the game.

What are the major traffic projects around Tulsa this week?

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) provide daily details on several traffic advisories for the Tulsa area and surrounding regions.

To start October, here are some of the significant traffic advisories. For more information, see our detailed list.

I-244 Pavement Rehabilitation

1. Ongoing pavement work between I-44 and the Arkansas River bridge, with lane and ramp closures lasting through spring 2025.

US-75 Bridge Rehabilitation

1. Lane closures at 7th St. and off-ramp closures to 7th St. through fall 2024 for bridge rehabilitation.

US-412 Bridge Rehabilitation

1. US-412 narrowed to two lanes at 81st W. Ave. in Sand Springs through February 2025.

Turnpike Ramp Closures

1. Nightly ramp closures on the Will Rogers Turnpike for cashless tolling construction through Saturday.

Emergency Info: Outages Across Oklahoma:

Northeast Oklahoma has various power companies and electric cooperatives, many of which have overlapping areas of coverage. Below is a link to various outage maps.

PSO Outage Map

OG&E Outage Map

VVEC Outage Map

Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) Outage Map

Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Outage Map — (Note Several Smaller Co-ops Included)

The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0dCHRWMFjs4fEPKLqTLjvy

The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/weather-out-the-door/id1499556141?i=1000671529938

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