Turn Your Clocks Back! October 31, 2009

Tonight’s the night! When we all turn our clocks back one hour and enjoy the extra hour of sleep as we watch the sun set earlier and rise earlier. But, did you know..not everyone in The United States participates in Daylight Saving Time which we are saying good-bye to? Arizona and Hawaii do not participate due to the fact that they see so much heat during the summer months that by extending the afternoon daylight by one hour would put such a strain on the energy grid, chaos would likely occur with blackouts.

-Damon

How About Global Cooling October 30, 2009

Well maybe it’s not that extreme, but October has not been the poster month for the global warming crowd. 

As Rusty mentioned in an earlier post, October will be the second coldest on record for OKC.  But we’re not the only ones dealing with colder and wetter than normal.  Take the big snowstorm in Denver for example.  It was the worst storm in more than 10 years….and winter has not even started yet.

The snow also affected parts of Nebraska and Wyoming, but Nebraska has already had other snowstorms this month.  In fact, North Platte, Nebraska has already had over 30 inches of snow this month.  That’s more than they get in an entire winter!

Our weekend weather looks tranquil.  Expect mostly sunny days with highs in the 60s and 70s through the weekend and much of next week.

Rick

 

On Track For Near Coldest October Ever October 29, 2009

We’ve been telling you just how cold this October has been, and the numbers are bearing it out. I can’t remember how many times I went on-air with the almanac and said we were 10 and even 15 degrees below our normal high for the day.

This month so far, 23 of the 29 high temperatures have been below normal. According to our friends at the National Weather Service in Norman, we are on track to tie for the second coldest October ever. We currently sit at #3.

With cool temperatures forecasted for the last two days of October, we should see a slight dip in the overall temperature for the month.

Rusty

Odds and Ends October 29, 2009

Good job to Sarah and Damon this morning.  Not only did they have to deal with strong/severe storms in central Oklahoma, they also had to do it with major computer issues taking place.  The hard drive on one of our main weather computers crashed at about 2 am leaving them crippled in terms of graphics.  They still managed to provide meaningful information on the storms, as well as road conditions across the metro.

Speaking of road conditions, the morning drive was seriously hampered by the heavy rain in the metro.  I know I took many of the back roads when taking my daughter to school to avoid many of the water related traffic jams.

Many locations in central Oklahoma had 1-2 inches of rain in a fairly short period of time between 6 am and 9 am.  Here are some of those amounts:

The worst of the rain is over.  However, there can still be a few spotty showers later tonight into tomorrow morning, but there will be no heavy rain like we had this morning.  Tomorrow will likely start cloudy, but sunshine will return through the day.  It will be cool with highs mostly in the 50s.

The weekend will be outstanding.  Plenty of sunshine with highs in the mid 60s Saturday, and near 70 on Sunday.  Trick-or-treat and football weather looks pleasant.

After tomorrow morning, I see no more rain in the forecast through next Thursday.

Rick

7 AM Update October 29, 2009

The line of heaviest thunderstorms continues moving east of the OKC metro.  The threat of severe weather is diminishing in the metro, but light right will continue for the next couple of hours.  Temperatures have fallen into the 50s with a gust northwest wind.

Rick

Today’s Brain Teaser October 29, 2009

Alright, this has been an issue that I have been dealing with for a few days now and I need some help. I usually wake up at 1:15am so that I can be at work by 2am. However, we set the clocks back at 2am this Sunday morning. So, what time should Damon Lane set his alarm clock for? Oh, and to add to the trickiness, I also have an atomic clock. Have fun figuring it out…

-Damon

PS- My atomic clock is not always the most reliable..

Rough Weather This Morning October 29, 2009

TORNADO WATCHES were posted this morning for southeastern Oklahoma and Western and Central Oklahoma. As of this writing, we will likely see these TORNADO WATCHES replaced with SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES.

-Damon

My Latest Thinking October 28, 2009

It should be an active weather period through tomorrow evening across Oklahoma as a large storm system moves from the Rockies into the Plains states.

Thunderstorms will develop along a cold front and sweep across Oklahoma beginning later tonight in the west, and ending in the east tomorrow afternoon and evening.  There is a risk that some of the storms could be severe with large hail and damaging winds.  Isolated tornadoes can’t be ruled out for a few hours late this evening in western Oklahoma.

Storms will most likely affect the OKC metro area from 7 am through early afternoon tomorrow.  In addition to a risk of hail and wind, there could be widespread rain amounts of around an inch.

The threat for storms will exit the state tomorrow evening, and tranquil weather will be the rule through the weekend.  Friday could bring a shower or two, but aside from that, Friday through Sunday looks pretty nice.

Our chilliest morning will be Saturday when temperatures fall into the upper 30s.  Patchy frost is possible for a time Saturday morning.

Trick-or-treat weather will be nice Saturday evening.  It will be dry and cool with early evening temperatures in the 50s and light winds.

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed Saturday night.

Rick

Storms Overnight & Thursday October 28, 2009

Looks like a fairly active evening with the chance for thunderstorms late tonight and early tomorrow morning.  A potent cold front will be pushing quickly across the area.

The threat for Severe storms exists across much of Western and Central Oklahoma through the overnight hours. The area to watch will be SW Oklahoma.  Hail, Damaging winds and Tornadoes will be a threat.  Winds could be in excess of 60mph at times.

Then as we head into the mid morning and afternoon  hours the threat will shift east a bit.

Sarah

A Windy Wednesday Ahead. October 27, 2009

Looks like a VERY windy Wednesday ahead of us.  We will have high pressure off to the south and east of us, and a rather deep Low off to the northwest.  This combination will give us a good pressure gradient and therefore gusty winds.  S winds may be gusting over 40mph at times.  Winds will be sustained at 20-30mph.   

 Thursday will be when we see the best chance for rain.  Rain chances will be at about 80% in Central Oklahoma.  Friday and Saturday look good for Trick-or Treaters.  Can’t complain about highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. 

Sarah