A Taste of Winter? November 30, 2009

It may not have felt or even looked like winter during November as temperatures were quite warm, but it looks like we’re headed in that direction by midweek once the rain moves out as we track some cold air in from the north.

The average high should be in the mid 50s right now but we may struggle to get out of the 30s and low 40s for Wednesday and Thursday as cold air continues to move through. By the time the 20 degree temperatures arrive, the rainfall will have been long gone, so no threat for ice.

-Damon

Big Storm Headed This Way? November 30, 2009

It may not look like a whole lot right now on RADAR but it’s shaping up to be as a storm system that is likely going to drop as much as 8 inches of snow in West Texas is headed this way. WINTER STORM WARNINGS are up for The Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad and even El Paso….And, it’s all headed towards Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, while many of us may be wishing for that much snow here, it doesn’t look like it’s going to amount to much as any snow that falls in Oklahoma will fall mainly in Western Oklahoma and will be mixed in with rain.

Rainfall looks likely for late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning…with some of the models squeezing out as much as an inch of rain by midweek.

-Damon

Farewell November November 30, 2009

Talk about an interesting month for November where it started out as one of the warmest on record and other than a few cold spells, never changed a whole lot.

For some, we loved the warmth that was across Oklahoma as it allowed us to make up for a very cool October, however, for others, the cold allows us to get ready for Christmas and if that is so, then the next couple of weeks are bound to put a big smile on your face as the cold air finally arrives.

 

 

However, while it was warm, it was also just downright dry with barely any rain out there. About 1.75″ below normal.

 

-Damon

 

The Morning Rundown November 30, 2009

Ah, back to school and work we go…so, what are we talking about this morning on KOCO?The weather is cold.. and will be warming up this afternoon.. back into the 50s. But, it’s all short-lived, cold air and another round of rain will be moving in… watch us this morning…we’ll detail it all out for you.

-Damon

A Cold (And Snowy?) Start To December November 29, 2009

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving weekend.  We’ve had rain in the state today, but the bulk of it will quickly exit the state tonight with decreasing clouds.  Lows will be in the 20s and 30s.

Tomorrow is the last day of November, but the weather will actually be pretty nice.  We can expect plenty of sunshine with light winds.  Highs across Oklahoma will be in the upper 50s, which is a few degrees above normal for this time of year.

Tuesday should be a transition day as clouds increase from the south in response to a storm system that will be moving from New Mexico into Texas.  Tuesday highs will be in the 50s.  Rain will be likely in Texas on Tuesday, perhaps spreading into southern Oklahoma by Tuesday night. 

My forecast will call for rain chances in OKC Tuesday night and Wednesday, but the highest chances will be in the south closest to the storm center.  One of the computer models is showing conditions that could mean a mix of rain and snow in southern Oklahoma by Tuesday afternoon.  Other models are not as cold, but it is a situation that I’ll watch carefully.

In addition to the rain chances on Wednesday, colder air will return to Oklahoma with highs only in the 40s.  Thursday through Saturday will be dry and chilly to cold with highs mostly in the 40s, and lows in the 20s and 30s.

The models are all over the place by next Sunday, so my confidence is low on what is going to happen.  One of the models shows a significant cold front coming in, while another model shows tranquil weather. 

Rick

Small Earthquake Near Jones Saturday Evening November 28, 2009

The U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed that a small earthquake occurred near Jones Saturday evening at 7:37pm. Preliminary reports are that the earthquake was a 3.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale. The epicenter was located about 2 miles north of Jones. No damage has been reported. We’ll have more on this on the late evening news after the football game.

Rusty

Black Friday Forecast November 26, 2009

’nuff said…. good luck out there shoppers

-Damon

Thanksgiving Travel Weather November 25, 2009

I just finished a video on koco.com on the Thanksgiving travel weather across the country. You can find it at http://www.koco.com/video/21726733/index.html

I can tell you if you’re heading to the northeast or have loved ones coming from there, fog and low ceilings are causing big time delays at some of the major airports.

Rusty

Arctic Blast Next Week! November 23, 2009

We may have hit our first freeze already, but next week we could be talking about getting in our first ARCTIC BLAST in The Southern Plains as the weather models are hinting at a surge of cold air moving in early next week.

The cold air will start to move south into The Central Plains by the weekend and impact us by Monday.

How cold are we talking here? As of right now, I would not be surprised if we have highs in the 30s and perhaps even some snow. This is something that we are already paying very closely attention to and will continue to keep you posted.

-Damon

Thanksgiving Travel…UPDATE November 23, 2009

Below, I wrote about travel around The United States on Wednesday and to be honest, I don’t see any reason why you would need to worry about someone not making it to the dinner table on Thursday. Atleast, not from weather stand point. But, when it comes to flying, you can never be too sure. Airlines have removed some of their metal from the sky as fewer planes are flying and tickets are more expensive. However, this year does not look like the year where airlines can blame weather for any type of travel cancellations.

Most of the major airport hubs in America will be just fine this Wednesday. Dallas-Love, Dallas-Ft Worth, Denver, Atlanta,Houston and Memphis will likely be delay free. Those airports service the airlines of American, Southwest, Frontier, United, Continental and Delta/Northwest.

Where we could see some minor delays, but nothing significant will be in the Great Lakes region where a small storm system could produce a mix of rain and snow, but given the area we are talking about here, these regions can handles the mix better than we can here in The Southern Plains. So, the airports of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Chicago-O’Hare and Detroit International may have some small delays are some aircraft may have to be deiced which could delay planes by no more than 30 minutes.

Headed back next Sunday, the travel may be a little more active, but nothing that should be of great concern. Headed north into Colorado, light snow showers are possible while the Gulf States and eastern Oklahoma may have some rain showers to deal with.

-Damon