After record high temps in the 80s, cold front to slam Oklahoma tomorrow. What to know

Jana Hayes, The Oklahoman
·2 min read
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After a week of warm temperatures, some of which set record highs, winter is set to show its face once again.

Oklahoma City is about to go from highs in the 80s to wind chills in the teens in less than 24 hours, with a cold front coming Wednesday.

Cold front coming for Oklahoma

Two women brace against the north wind while going into a store in northwest Oklahoma City Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.
Two women brace against the north wind while going into a store in northwest Oklahoma City Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.

A strong Canadian air cold front will move into Oklahoma early Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Norman said.

North winds behind the cold front mean the Wednesday morning wind chill values will be in the teens across central, northern and western Oklahoma. Wind chill could get as low as 12 degrees in Ponca City and Enid, and as low as 18 degrees in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma's warm February days set daily record highs

New daily record highs were set Monday for Oklahoma City, Lawton and Wichita Falls, the National Weather Service said.

  • OKC saw a record daily high of 88 degrees, with a previous record high of 82 on Feb. 26, 1996

  • Lawton saw a record daily high of 88 degrees, with a previous record high of 85 on Feb. 26, 2009

  • Wichita Falls saw a record daily high of 93 degrees, with a previous record high of 93 on Feb. 26, 2009

Warm air to return to Oklahoma after cold front, but is winter over?

The reminder that it's still winter will be short-lived, with a warming trend returning on Thursday.

Oklahoma City will see highs in the 70s on Saturday and Sunday.

But even as the calendar turns to March, winter weather isn't totally out of the question, meteorologist Nolan Meister told The Oklahoman earlier this month.

"A lot of times we get into this mode where we have a warm February and we assume you know, winter is over," Meister said. "And then the first week or the second week of March, we get one or two more winter weather events or even just one or two more really significant cooldowns."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Record-high temps plunging to bitter cold tomorrow in Oklahoma