Heat Stress Remains As Storm Chances Return

Excessive Heat Warnings are in effect on Thursday after a round of early morning storms.

Here are the details from News On 6 Meteorologist Alan Crone:

Tropical moisture combined with local evapotranspiration and afternoon highs in the 90s will create dangerous heat index values later in the day on Thursday. Excessive heat warnings and advisories will remain for the area on Thursday through the evening hours. The upper air pattern remains favorable for additional storm chances, mostly late night into early morning, with some minor relief arriving for part of the weekend.

We're tracking a few storms early Thursday morning moving across extreme northeastern OK and northwestern Arkansas. These storms were severe overnight as they moved from southeastern Kansas across the state line producing winds near 60 mph. Additional isolated showers and storms are also located across the southern section of the state near a weak outflow boundary. Most of this activity will quickly move out of the area while dissipating, but a few pop-up showers or storms can’t be ruled out during the afternoon. Higher probabilities will arrive with another risk of strong to severe storms later this evening across southern Kansas and northwestern Oklahoma. Depending upon the exact location of this morning’s outflow boundaries, a few of these storms will spread southeast across part of northeastern OK tonight into pre-dawn Friday. This active upper airflow from the northwest remains conducive to bringing another larger area of storms late Friday night exiting our immediate areas overnight into pre-dawn Saturday. Some of these storms will also be strong to severe with primary threats of damaging wind gusts, some hail, and heavy rainfall.

A weak surface boundary is expected to move southward late Friday night into early Saturday bringing some minor relief from the heat Saturday. Humidity values may still support heat index values over 100 Saturday but should drop a few degrees Sunday with slightly drier air moving across the northeastern quadrant of the state. The mid-level ridge of high pressure is expected to move east and center across most of the southern plains by the middle to end of next week bringing more heat and humidity issues back to the region, including the mention of triple-digit temperatures.

Thanks for reading the Thursday morning weather discussion and blog.

Have a super great day!

Alan Crone

KOTV