Local Storms Possible Starting Wednesday

By Paula Cain, Ponca City Emergency Management:

This could end up being a wild weather week in Oklahoma. The sheer number of events alone will likely give us all a case of Storm Stress.  Today could remain misty & damp most of the day, with showers & thunderstorms developing after 1 am. These are not expected to be severe. The severe weather risks all start Wednesday…

On Wednesday watch for storm development in western Oklahoma. Supercell thunderstorms are possible with very large hail to the size of baseballs and a few tornadoes. Eventually the storms are expected to merge into a line and move east potentially causing wind damage. When lines like this form you can almost always expect strong damaging wind on the leading edge.

On Thursday thunderstorms could again develop along a front in NW & NC Oklahoma. Although the risk for severe weather is low, strong thunderstorms & heavy rain would not be a surprise.

Moist, unstable air will remain in place on Friday. Thought is that storms could form on a boundary, most likely in eastern Oklahoma. At this point we may begin to see more heavy rain events rather than severe weather. Some areas could see as much as 4 inches before the week is over. Especially on Saturday, rain could continue for much of the day. Sunday may not be much better, but remember that the weekend is still many days away and much will change before then.

Remember too, that it is the middle of May and we should all be ready for severe weather right now.