Hot, mostly dry conditions to linger much of the week

Oklahomans will get an extended taste of summer beginning Sunday.

The National Weather Service said a ridge of high pressure will hold over the region, allowing warm to hot temperatures to expand eastward. Temperatures will run above average in many areas, and the chance for rain will be slim until the end of the week.

On Saturday, skies were generally partly cloudy. A weak atmospheric disturbance spread clouds over portions of southwestern and central Oklahoma, spawning brief rain- and thundershowers.

Temperatures ranged from 82 degrees in McAlester to 87 degrees in Bartlesville. The mercury peaked at 85 degrees in Frederick, Guthrie, Oklahoma City and Stillwater and reached 86 degrees in Tulsa, Clinton, Hobart and Lawton, according to the weather service.

Skies should be mostly sunny Sunday and Monday, with highs reaching the 80s and 90s both days and lows dipping into the 50s and 60s Sunday night.

Partly cloudy conditions are expected Tuesday through Thursday, with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the east on Tuesday, a slight chance for precipitation in the southeast on Wednesday and a slight chance of storms statewide on Thursday, according to the weather service.

Highs through the period should reach the 80s and 90s. Lows are expected to fall into the 50s and 60s Tuesday night. Low temperatures Wednesday and Thursday nights are forecast to range from the 50s in the Panhandle to 60s and low 70s elsewhere.