Severe Thunderstorm Watch Active For Green Country Until 11am

The mid-level ridge of high pressure is shifting westward, allowing a favorable upper airflow from northwest to southeast to brush parts of southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma Tuesday night into Wednesday before the ridge expands back over the region. During this period of northwest flow, there's a chance for a complex of storms to approach the area.

Active Watches & Warnings:

1. Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Haskell, Latimer, McIntosh and Pittsburg County in OK until 9:30am.
2. Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, Le Flore, McIntosh, Mayes, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pittsburg Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington Counties in OK until 11:00am.

Any significant storm complex that arrives Tuesday night into early Wednesday could bring damaging winds, hail, and locally heavy rainfall. June's precipitation has been sparse, with some areas beginning to experience the early stages of a flash drought. While rainfall would be welcome, it would not significantly alter the heat or humidity on Wednesday afternoon.

What will the weather be like in Oklahoma on Wednesday, June 26?

A weak outflow boundary is likely to be near or south of I-40 Wednesday afternoon where increasing instability is likely to develop. A few additional scattered storms will be possible near and south of the boundary, including the mention of a few strong to severe storms capable of some damaging downbursts.

Humidity levels will be high near the boundary. Some locations of southern OK may be placed in excessive heat warnings with heat index values nearing 112 to 114 Wednesday afternoon. Locations across northern OK will remain in a heat advisory with indices ranging from 105 to 110.

Data indicates that the ridge will start to expand westward and strengthen early next week, slightly east of Oklahoma. Before this occurs, this could allow for a brief opportunity for another system to approach northern Oklahoma Saturday night into Sunday, with a chance for another storm complex in the vicinity.

However, based on the current pattern, most of this system is expected to remain along or north of the ridge's upper edge. Consequently, our probability of storms will remain low, around 20 to 30%, for this forecast period. The excessive heat and humidity are set to continue through the weekend and into the following week.

EMSA HEAT SAFETY TIPS:

1. PRE-HYDRATION is key in preventing heat-related illness. Drink plenty of water or electrolyte replacement drinks several hours before and during long exposure to the summer heat.
2. Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing and a wide-brimmed hat if working outdoors, and take plenty of shade breaks.
3. No alcohol or caffeine.
4. If you do not have air conditioning, find a cooling station or public space (such as libraries or malls) during the day.
5. Don’t limit your use of air conditioning.
6. Use the buddy system if working outdoors and check on elderly neighbors.
7. Keep a cell phone on you at all times when outdoors, including walking, running daily errands, yard work or sports and physical activity.

Outages Across Oklahoma:

Northeast Oklahoma has various power companies and electric co-operatives, many with overlapping areas of coverage. Below is a link to various outage maps.

Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Outage Map - (Note Several Smaller Co-ops Included)

The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Spotify:

The Alan Crone morning weather podcast link from Apple:

Follow the News On 6 Meteorologists on Facebook!