Last Day of 2007 December 31, 2007

We are closing the book on what has been the wettest year on record in Oklahoma City. The final yearly rainfall will come in at 56.95″ (we won’t add to that today). The average is 35.85″. The old record, 52.03″ stood since 1908.

Other notable items: January and December featured mean ice storms. May featured tornadoes. August brought “Erin” to the state. December had 3 snow events in one week.

It’s only fitting that we go into 2008 on a quiet note. It will be cold and the wind will be up. The midnight temperature in OKC will be 30 degrees, with wind chills in the upper 10s. If you’re headed downtown for Opening Night, you need to bundle up.

Tuesday and Wednesday look chilly, before we have a very nice warm up for the first weekend of 2008.

Have fun tonight, but be careful too–

Andy

Get Ready For Some Wind December 30, 2007

I’m back from a few days off with my family. We went north to Nebraska to visit my brother and sisters. This was the first time we had been back to Omaha since my mom’s funeral, so it was nice to see everyone. We are all about 5 pounds heavier due to all the goodies. My mom would always make sure there were plenty of holiday treats around. Since this was our first Christmas without her, I think we all tried to overcompensate by baking our own cookies and treats. Well, we ended up with far more food than mom would have had. So we’re a little heavier than before Christmas started.

Now on to the next holiday…New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. We’ll see a cold front move across the state tomorrow with nothing more than a few clouds. It will be windy and turning colder. Highs will be in the 40s and 50s, but it will feel colder because of the north wind gusting over 30 mph.

If you will be out tomorrow night, it will be windy and cold. Bundle up if you are going to Opening Night in downtown OKC. Temperatures will be falling through the 30s and into the 20s by midnight with wind chills in the teens.

New Year’s Day will be dry and cold with a biting north wind. Highs will be in 30s and 40s.

There will be a warming trend starting on Thursday with highs in the 40s and 50s…some 60s here by the weekend. Winds will be strong out of the south, gusting over 40 mph.

So no big weather systems bringing rain or snow the next several days. Fine by me.

Rick

Even Better Sunday… December 30, 2007

Sunday looks good. We should see a lot of sunshine. A southwest to west wind will warm us nicely. Northern Oklahoma will be stuck in the upper 40s (thanks to leftover snow on the ground). OKC gets to 52, on a day that the average is 47. Southern Oklahoma reaches for 60!

The next weather change is a cold front. It will be here tomorrow morning. It’s not arctic air, but it will turn windy and colder. We’ll be watching the fire danger in southwestern Oklahoma Monday. Monday highs will be in the 40s.

If you have New Years Eve plans–you will want to bundle up. Skies will be clear, but the wind will still be in the 10-15 mph range. Take that wind, add temperatures in the 20s…well…it will feel cold.

Andy

Decent Saturday December 29, 2007

After our stretch of weekend storm systems, we had this coming. Expect more sun than clouds this weekend. Today will be a bit chilly with highs in the 30s across the north (where there’s still snow on the ground) to the 50s in the south.

Sunday, a brisk southwest wind will take us into the 40s and 50s. That won’t last long as we bring in a cold front for New Years Eve. New Years looks chilly.

If you’re traveling to Arizona for the bowl games, the weather in Phoenix looks nice. Really nice. Lots of sun with highs in the 60s!

Have a great day!

Andy

Quiet Weather to Close 2007 December 29, 2007

The snow we saw late last night and early this morning is gone. Most locations around the metro received around an inch, with some of the higher amounts reported along the northern fringe of the state, at 2-3″.

The cold air has really settled in. Temperatures in the panhandle have already dropped into the teens and morning lows for single digits certainly isn’t out of the question. Morning lows in the metro will be in the low 20s.

All of us are in store for sunny skies the next several days, but we’ll also have to deal with chilly weather. There is a little warm up on Sunday and as we say goodbye to 2007 on Monday. But, 2008 comes in with a stark chill in the air. Highs on the 1st will only climb onto the upper 30s. It does look like the dry weather will stretch into the beginning of 2008.

Rusty

The Quiet Begins December 28, 2007

Our weather pattern will take a dramatic turn. We’re going to go from the train of snowy systems (that phrase coined by our own Steve Carano) to…well…nothing. We’ll see some clouds from time to time through the weekend, but we should also warm up. By Sunday, our highs are in the 50s.

We’re tracking a cold front that will move through early Monday. It won’t bring any rain/snow, but it will bring windy and colder weather to welcome in 2008.

Andy

Be Careful! December 28, 2007

We’re getting reports of numerous wrecks in the Oklahoma City metro this morning. Give yourself plenty of extra time. It’s deceiving. We didn’t get a lot of snow, but there’s “black ice”. This stuff can be nasty–you don’t know it’s there until you’re on it. Be extra careful on the bridges and overpasses. Roads from OKC to the west, northwest and north should be regarded as “slick and hazardous”.

Andy

Winding Down December 28, 2007

Our third snow event in a week (in a week!) is winding down early this morning. OKC will again end up with trace-1″ amounts. Northern Oklahoma gets the most (3+”.) Southern Oklahoma is getting rain.

The storm is pulling drier air into it, so the precipitation is ending from southwest to northeast (called a “dry-slot’). By mid-morning, rain/snow will have cleared the state. I’m calling it mostly cloudy today.

The worst roads this morning will be over the northwest/northcentral sections. Metro roads will have some slush, and the bridges and overpasses will be a bit rough. Give yourself some extra time for your morning commute.

Looking at the long range forecast, we’ll have a cold front move through on Monday. It will turn colder, but should stay dry.

Three snow events in one week…it’s not that it can’t happen, but it’s far from common around here.

Andy

Quick Lunchtime Update December 27, 2007

Our current forecast looks good. The heaviest snow will fall late tonight in northern Oklahoma. A Snow Advisory will go from 6pm tonight to 6am Friday for areas northwest and north of the OKC metro area.

One important thing to remember with winter storms. Speed and track are very important. If this storm slows down/speeds up, the snowfall totals will change. If the storm track comes further south, that heavier snow gets closer to OKC. If it goes further north, then we take the heavier snow to the north. We will watch this for you throughout the day.

Andy

More Snow… December 27, 2007

I want to give you a quick update on the weather. We’re in “busy” mode this morning. I’m having my version of the “power snack” (diet soda) and building the graphics for the noon news.

The next round of winter weather is already on the way. We’re going to shift the focus of the heavier snow from southeast of OKC to north of OKC. This storm, like the last couple is a fast mover. It will be in later tonight and out by lunch Friday. Totals will range from a trace for Chickasha and Pauls Valley to 6″ close to the Kansas border in northern Oklahoma. Like the last couple of events, it wouldn’t surprise me to get a narrow, heavier band of snow. Travel problems are likely late tonight and tomorrow across northern Oklahoma into southern and western Kansas.

Looking at the computer models, we go quiet after this. Very quiet.

We’ll have updates throughout the day on Eyewitness News 5.

Andy