Weather Blog: Cloudy Christmas Eve With Drizzle In Oklahoma, Warmer Christmas Day Ahead
Christmas Eve is looking cloudy and a bit chilly, with temperatures in the lower 50s and a chance of light drizzle in the southeast.
Expect a lot of clouds and a north wind keeping things cool, especially on Christmas Day when temps may only reach the 40s. A new storm system will roll in on Thursday, bringing rain and thunder, particularly to the southeast, along with some strong winds.
As we wrap up 2024, temperatures will remain above normal. By New Year's Eve, expect a cold front bringing cooler air and a winter feel as January 2025 approaches, along with more chances for rain and snow.
What Can We Expect This Afternoon and on Christmas Day?
Cloudy conditions and northeast winds at 5 to 12 mph will keep temperatures in the lower 50s this afternoon, slightly above seasonal averages.
As this system moves away, Christmas Day will be between storm systems.
Tomorrow morning will start with temperatures in the lower 40s, and Christmas afternoon will see highs in the lower 50s north and mid-50s south, with a northeast breeze at 7 to 12 mph.
What’s the Forecast for Thursday?
Another strong mid-level disturbance will approach from the west on Thursday, bringing more scattered showers and some thunderstorms. Instability will be greater along and south of the Red River Valley, with severe threats mostly along the Red River or southward into Texas near and east of I-35.
We’ll watch areas south of I-40 and east of Highway 69 for a few strong to severe storms across far southeastern OK by Thursday afternoon and evening.
Thursday morning will start in the mid-40s with highs reaching the upper 50s north and lower 60s south. Most of the system should exit late Thursday evening.
Friday into the Weekend
Friday morning will start in the mid-40s, ending with afternoon highs in the lower 60s and mostly to partly cloudy conditions, with southwest winds at 7 to 12 mph. Another disturbance will cross the area Friday night into Saturday, but low-level moisture will be sparse.
There is a low chance (less than 10%) of a few showers late Friday night and early Saturday morning. The disturbance approaching Friday could bring severe weather threats to parts of East Texas, Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and points eastward.
Please be aware if traveling in these areas this weekend. Severe weather will not impact eastern Oklahoma. Morning lows this weekend will be in the lower 40s, with daytime highs in the lower to mid-60s. Partly cloudy conditions will continue Saturday until the upper air trough moves eastward, resulting in mostly sunny conditions on Sunday.
What Changes Are Expected Next Week?
A pattern change is likely to influence the Southern and Central Plains next week. Another strong disturbance will move across the region on Monday, bringing a surface low-pressure area across northern Oklahoma by Monday afternoon.
Highs on Monday could reach the mid to upper 60s before the system moves eastward, allowing much colder weather to return early next week.
This pattern may bring precipitation chances, which we will monitor as we approach New Year’s.
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.
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:
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