An upper level low moved through the Central Plains this morning, bringing patchy showers and storms to southern Kansas and far northern Oklahoma.

What is today’s forecast?

Behind the departing system, southwesterly winds will blow around 10 to 20 mph during the middle of the day, gradually decreasing later this afternoon. The morning low around 60 will rise to near 90 this afternoon, potentially setting a new daily record for the Tulsa metro area.

Burning prohibitions:

The combination of southwest winds, dry vegetation and persistent drought will lead to a slight increase in fire danger by mid-morning. However, the expected decrease in wind speed later in the day should help limit fire spread this afternoon.

What are the forecasts for the rest of the week?

Another weak front is expected to approach the area Wednesday afternoon or early Wednesday evening, bringing a slight chance of rain or storms near or east of the Tulsa metro.

This boundary will likely linger and diffuse or move north as a weak front late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. Locations north of the front will see highs in the lower to mid 80s Wednesday afternoon, with some upper 80s to lower 90s south of the border on the south side of the OK Wednesday afternoon.

There remains a very small chance of an isolated shower or storm near the border late Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning, but most locations will remain dry. Strong southwesterly winds return quickly Thursday with highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s by afternoon.

A more significant mid-level low will move across the Central Plains Thursday night into Friday, creating a strong front over our area Friday morning through noon. There is a slight chance of rain or storms late Friday night into early Saturday as the front moves south, although the chance remains low.

This will lead to a decrease in daytime highs on Friday into the upper 70s and lower 80s, with even cooler weather expected over the weekend. Morning lows will fall into the lower 50s, and daytime highs will reach the mid to high 70s over the weekend.

A stronger upper-level system is expected to move through the western half of the country early next week, possibly reaching the central and southern plains on Wednesday. This will bring strong southerly winds, warmer temperatures and more moisture at low levels.

Based on this pattern, we should see a return of rain and storm chances in parts of Oklahoma by the middle of next week, followed by a shift to more fall-like weather behind the border.

What are the major traffic projects around Tulsa this week?

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) provide details daily on various traffic advisories for the Tulsa area and surrounding regions.

To kick off October, here are some important traffic advisories. For more information, see our detailed list.

I-244 Pavement Rehabilitation

1. Ongoing paving work between I-44 and the Arkansas River bridge, with lane and ramp closures through spring 2025.

Rehabilitation of bridge US-75

1. Lane closures at 7th St. and exits to 7th St. through fall 2024 for bridge rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation of the US-412 bridge

1. US-412 is narrowed to two lanes at 81st W. Ave through February 2025. in Sand Springs.

Emergency information: outages in Oklahoma:

Northeastern Oklahoma has several utility companies and electric cooperatives, many of which have overlapping coverage areas. Below you will find a link to various outage maps.

PSO failure card

OG&E outage map

VVEC fault map

Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) outage map.

Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Outage Map – (Note: several smaller cooperatives are included)

Spotify’s Alan Crone morning weather podcast link:

Apple’s Alan Crone Morning Weather podcast link:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weather-out-the-door/id1499556141?i=1000672483482

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