Rain expected to bring relief from Oklahoma heat wave Thursday through Sunday

Jessie Christopher Smith, Oklahoman
·3 min read
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Riley Benda, owner of Lemonheads Mobil Detail, takes a drink of water July 26, 2022, as he details a car in Oklahoma City.
Riley Benda, owner of Lemonheads Mobil Detail, takes a drink of water July 26, 2022, as he details a car in Oklahoma City.

Relief from a month-long heat wave appears on the horizon for Oklahomans as July ends and chances for rain increase.

Meteorologists expect temperatures in parts of Oklahoma to be the 80s and 90s starting Thursday and lasting into Sunday. The cooldown breaks a period of unusually hot temperatures for the state, where every county in Oklahoma saw temperatures above 100 degrees for several days.

"It's been over a month since we've seen rain, and drought conditions are rapidly deteriorating," said Victor Alvarez, a student meteorologist at the Oklahoma Weather Lab in Norman's National Weather Center. "Thankfully, rain looks to arrive toward the end of the week."

Michael 'Moose" Harris, a horticulturist at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club, waters plants and greens on Tuesday. Harris says staying hydrated is the key to working outside when the temperatures rise.
Michael 'Moose" Harris, a horticulturist at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club, waters plants and greens on Tuesday. Harris says staying hydrated is the key to working outside when the temperatures rise.

The Oklahoma City area has received less than a tenth of an inch of rain in the last month and a half, Alvarez said. Drought conditions have been so severe, burn bans prohibiting open flames have been implemented for at least 41 counties since Monday.

Related:'Red flag' warnings of fire weather issued for OKC metro, southern Oklahoma

What records did Oklahoma break during this summer's heat wave?

Central Oklahoma has seen 15 days of heat at 100 degrees or more this summer, with Oklahoma City experiencing 5 consecutive days above 100 degrees between mid-and-late July. Other parts of Oklahoma, like Lawton and Stillwater, have seen 33 and 26 days of 100-plus degree heat, respectively.

Altus, in southwestern Oklahoma, has had the most cumulative days of triple-digit heat with 48 days, but so far the city has not broken its all-time hottest record of 120 degrees, set in 1936. Hollis, in a nearby county, saw 46 days of triple-digit heat, a sizable gulf from the city's (and the state's) all-time record of 101 days in 2011.

Temperatures across the state were close to historic highs in mid-July, and Oklahoma City set a new daily record of 110 degrees on July 19.

More:Shade, fresh water essential for animals during Oklahoma heat wave

When will the heat wave end?

Michael "Moose" Harris, a horticulturist at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club, waters plants and greens on Tuesday. Rain expected during the final weekend of July might bring much-needed irrigation to vegetation throughout the state, but the typical cooldown and precipitation brought by autumn months could start later this year, according to experts.

Chances of rain in central Oklahoma increase to 60% late Thursday, with showers likely before 1 p.m. Friday. A 50% chance is forecast for Saturday, before dipping to 20% Sunday. Sunny skies return Monday.

"With this cooldown coming through, I consider that the end of the current heat wave," said Matthew Day, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman. "Whether we get additional heat in the triple digits after that is a bit harder to determine exactly at this time."

But Day said the 3-month-outlook from the Weather Service Prediction Center projects "above-normal temperatures" from August to October.

"Overall, we're looking at an average of unseasonably warm August-September-October temperatures," Day said. "It doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to persist all the way into October, but when you add all of those things together, it's looking like it's going to be above average."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma heat wave 2022: Rain relief expected for final July weekend