Severe storms, strong winds possible in Oklahoma overnight into Wednesday
Tulsa is kicking off April with gusty south winds, keeping temperatures in check but pushing in storm fuel for later tonight.
Current Watches:
A Tornado Watch is in effect for Creek, Kay, Lincoln, Noble, Nowata, Okfuskee, Osage, Pawnee, Payne, Rogers, Tulsa and Washington County in OK until 12:00 a.m.
Read Stacia Knight's weather blog for Tuesday's weather.
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⏰ Timeline:
⛈️Late Evening to Early Wednesday Morning:
- Thunderstorms likely to develop overnight.
- Severe weather risk increases, especially near and northeast of I-35 and across the Tulsa metro area.
Mid-Morning:
- Cold front moves through northern and eastern Oklahoma.
- Remaining storms push into western Arkansas around noon.
Key storm risks:
- 🌩️ Large hail
- 💨 Damaging winds (60+ mph)
- 🌪️ Isolated tornadoes possible
Windy Weather Returns Before Strong to Severe Storm Chances Arrive
A wind advisory will be in effect for parts of northern and eastern Oklahoma from tonight into early Wednesday morning as a powerful storm system develops and moves into our area.
Thunderstorm chances will increase with this system, including some severe weather threats.
Additional storms are expected from midweek through the weekend, with the potential for heavy rainfall.
Cooler temperatures will arrive by the end of the week and continue through the weekend.
The Short-Term Forecast
Strong south winds will return today, with temperatures climbing into the mid-to-upper 70s ahead of the approaching storm system.
Thunderstorm chances increase late tonight into early Wednesday morning, with the potential for some storms to become strong to severe, including large hail and damaging winds.
The risk of a tornado is possible, mostly across part of north central OK near and northeast of I-35 into southeastern Kansas. The Tulsa metro will be included for this risk.
What's the timing for this system?
A warm air layer aloft, known as a cap, is expected to suppress thunderstorm development for most of the afternoon and evening, but if a storm does form, it would likely be super cellular and severe, with all modes of severe weather possible.
Most storms will likely develop overnight and into early Wednesday morning.
Wednesday
The cold front will move through northern and eastern Oklahoma by mid-morning Wednesday, pushing remaining thunderstorms into western Arkansas around noon.
Severe weather risks will be much higher for areas east of Oklahoma, especially Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.
If you have travel plans for some of the adjacent states east of Oklahoma, please stay alert. West to southwest winds will be expected behind the morning storms, with afternoon highs reaching the upper 70s to lower 80s.
More Storms Possible Thursday through the Weekend
The boundary is expected to stall across parts of the Red River Valley, then lift slowly northward late Wednesday night into Thursday morning as another upper-level disturbance approaches from the southwest.
Additional showers and storms are expected during this period, with severe weather risks mostly along and on both sides of the I-40 corridor, where higher moisture content is present.
Super cell storms are possible, including the potential for all modes of severe weather on Thursday.
Thursday's lows will be in the lower to mid-50s, with highs in the mid to upper 60s south and upper 50s and lower 60s north.
Cooler Weather and Increased Rainfall
By late Thursday night into Friday, a broad upper-level trough to the west will bring another disturbance near Oklahoma, prompting more showers and thunderstorms near and east of the Tulsa metro.
A surface low-pressure system will form south of the region, across Texas, bringing northeast winds and cooler conditions into Oklahoma by Friday afternoon.
Any severe storms will be confined to areas along and south of the I-40 corridor, mostly across the Red River Valley Region.
Heavy Rainfall is likely for part of the Weekend
The stalling boundary, combined with upper-level disturbances, will lead to locally heavy rainfall, especially Friday into Saturday.
A flood watch will likely be issued for east-central and southern Oklahoma over the weekend.
Rainfall totals are expected to range from three to four inches along the I-44 corridor, including Tulsa, with four to six inches possible in southern and east-central Oklahoma.
These amounts would include precipitation that falls overnight into Wednesday through the weekend. However, the heaviest rainfall is expected from Friday through the weekend.
The System Exits Sunday
The main storm system will finally exit the area on Sunday but there remains sone questions regarding the exact trajectory of the backside of this storm system. For now, the probability of precipitation will remain near 50% with morning lows in the 30s and highs in the lower to mid-50s. This portion of the forecast is subject to change.
Need-to-know severe weather prep:
🔗Severe weather safety: what you need to know to prepare
🔗Tornado Watch vs. Tornado Warning: what they mean and what to do
🔗Severe weather safety: what to do before, during, and after a storm
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/episode/0pdeH3NGJft8mI5t8MBEG5
The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Apple:
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