Strong cold front moving through Oklahoma

By Brian Sargent

Published: January 29, 2008

A strong cold front will continue to move from northwest to southeast across Oklahoma today. Strong, gusty winds also are expected to continue today as high fire danger remains.

Behind the cold front, winds will shift to northwesterly at 25 to 35 mph, gusting to about 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures will quickly drop to the 30s and 40s.

Forecasters said an area of light to moderate snow will move east across northern Oklahoma. Strong winds will produce blowing snow, reducing visibility. Snow accumulations will be small, but may impact travel conditions for a few hours.

Strong winds may cause blowing dust in central and southern Oklahoma and northwestern Texas.

Wind gusts near 60 mph have been reported near Altus Air Force Base in Jackson County and Frederick in Tillman County, according to the weather service's Web site.

Skies will clear overnight and temperatures will turn much colder, with lows dropping into the low to mid-20s.

Wednesday will be mostly sunny, with breezy conditions in western Oklahoma. Highs will range from the upper 40s in northeastern and east-central parts of the state to the upper 50s in the southwest.

In southeast Oklahoma City, smoldering remains from a blaze that destroyed a vacant house on Sunday flared up again today, consuming a hay barn, deputy Fire Chief Cecil Clay said.

"With the wind blowing 30 or 40 mph, if you've got the least little bit of ember buried back in there somewhere, it can kick back up," Clay said.

Firefighters responded to seven other fires in the city, he said.

The temperature in Oklahoma City at noon today was 36 degrees with a 22-degree wind chill factor.

In Tulsa, the temperature was 31 degrees with a 17-degree wind chill factor.

Elsewhere this afternoon:

• Ponca City in Osage County: 25 degrees, 9-degree wind chill factor.

• Bartlesville in Washington County: 28 degrees, 16-degree wind chill factor.

• Stillwater in Payne County: 31 degrees, 17-degree wind chill factor.

A record high temperature of 78 degrees and 73 degrees were set Monday in Gage and Hobart, respectively, according to the National Weather Service.

The previous record for high temperature on a Jan. 28 in Gage was 76 set in 1950. The previous record for high temperature on a Jan. 28 in Hobart was 73 set in 2002.

Warnings, advisories issued

A red flag warning will be effective until 6 p.m. today for Alfalfa, Atoka, Beckham, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills, Seminole, Stephens, Tillman, Washita, Woods and Woodward counties.

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are occurring or will happen shortly. A combination of strong winds and low relative humidity will create explosive fire growth potential.

A wind advisory will be effective until 4 p.m. today for Beaver County. A wind advisory will be effective until 6 p.m. today for Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Rogers, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington counties.

A wind advisory means that winds of at least 40 mph are predicted, causing difficult driving conditions.

A lake wind advisory will be effective until 5 p.m. today for McCurtain County.

A lake wind advisory means that winds will cause rough chop on lakes. Small boats will be prone to capsizing.

A high wind warning will be effective from 3 to 6 p.m. today for Adair, Choctaw, Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore, Pushmataha and Sequoyah counties.

A wind warning means wind gusts of at least 58 mph are expected, causing property damage.

Today and Wednesday, the fire danger is predicted to be extreme, according to the National Weather Service Web site. The fire outlook will remain high through Sunday.

Relative humidity in parts of Oklahoma this week is predicted to be between 15 and 35 percent, with winds nearing 30 mph and gusting to 50 mph, creating conditions conducive to wildfires.

Oklahoma forecast

• Today : Mostly sunny. Highs near 40 in the far northwest to the mid-60s in the far southeast. Slight chance of thunderstorms in the southeast in the morning.

• Tonight : Mostly clear. Lows from the upper teens to near 30.

• Wednesday : Sunny. Highs in the upper 40s to mid-50s.

Oklahoma City forecast

• Today : Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 30s in afternoon. Northwesterly winds 25 to 35 mph, gusting to about 50 mph.

• Tonight : Mostly clear. Lows in the mid-20s. Southerly winds 10 to 15 mph.

• Wednesday : Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-50s. Southerly winds 20 to 30 mph.

• Wednesday night : Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s. Southerly winds 10 to 20 mph.

Regional road conditions hotlines

• Arkansas: (800) 245-1672

• Colorado: (303) 639-1111

• Kansas: (866) 511-5368

• Missouri: (800) 222-6400

• Oklahoma: (888) 425-2385

• Texas: (800) 452-9292

Contributing: The Associated Press

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