textproduct: Norman

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1203 PM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

- Below-zero wind chills likely Friday night into Saturday morning across much of Oklahoma.

- Light snow/flurries possible Friday evening across northwest/western OK, no accumulation expected.

- Moderating back to near or slightly above normal for much of next week.

NEAR TERM

(Rest of today and tonight) Issued at 1203 PM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

A cold front will continue to progress across the area through the remainder of the afternoon, bringing a northerly wind shift and keeping temperatures cooler across central and northern Oklahoma where highs in the 30s are expected, with 40s elsewhere. Mainly clear skies are expected tonight, allowing temperatures to drop into the teens for much of the area. Although it didn't end up materializing this morning, will once again need to watch for the potential for freezing fog Friday morning, especially across northern and western Oklahoma where winds are forecast to be the weakest. For now any fog appears it would be patchy and overall a low probability scenario.

Ware

SHORT TERM

(Friday through Saturday night) Issued at 1203 PM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

Below normal temperatures will continue for much of the area on Friday as northerly winds persist and scattered clouds prevent full insolation. A secondary surge of colder air is expected to move in Friday night as a lobe of shortwave energy dives southward across the upper Midwest, helping send a 1050 mb surface high southward into the region. Models continue to show a signal for light snow or flurries behind the front for a brief period Friday evening before dry air shuts things off rather quickly. The highest chances for light snow appear to be across northwest OK, but could see flurries further south and east into central OK as well. Little to no snow accumulation is expected at this time.

The greater impact to our area will be cold temperatures as arctic high pressure builds into the region Friday night. Lows in the single digits are forecast for much of Oklahoma with low to mid teens near and south of the Red River. Factoring in brisk north winds will lead to wind chills ranging from near -10 north to 0 to 5 above across the south. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect Friday night into Saturday morning for the entire area. Even with a good deal of sunshine on Saturday, continued cold advection will keep highs only in the 20s for much of the area, with some low 30s out west.

Ware

LONG TERM

(Sunday through Wednesday) Issued at 1233 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

That powerhouse trough will exit the East Coast on Sunday with height rises across much of the central US. Because of that, Sunday through Tuesday looks much more primed to be a real warmup than the stunted warming trend we've seen this week. Temperatures could return to near or above normal as soon as Monday.

One of the major long-term forecast questions will be the potential for precipitation from early-to-mid next week. Global models show an increasing influence from the STJ at some point during that period, which seems to have been a big driver of a lot of our precipitation events in the last 2 or 3 years. The signal is far from certain and is being damped out by some timing uncertainty, but we'll continue to watch the pattern. If anything, this does look like it would be a warmer system than the one we just encountered, increasing the potential for rain in lieu of snow. No significant cooldowns are obvious in the extended range.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1109 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

A gusty northerly wind will prevail behind a cold front this afternoon, before the wind decreases after 00-2Z. The cold front has yet to reach DUA, so a southwesterly wind will prevail until the frontal passage around 21Z.

Low clouds, with MVFR ceilings, have been confined to northwestern Oklahoma this morning. It's possible that scattered to perhaps a broken cloud deck may form across north central and central Oklahoma this afternoon. High pressure will build over the region late this evening and overnight. With a light there is a chance of light fog developing by 12Z Friday. Confidence is rather low in occurrence, so will not mention in TAFs.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Oklahoma City OK 17 36 7 24 / 0 0 10 0 Hobart OK 15 44 8 28 / 0 0 10 0 Wichita Falls TX 19 44 13 30 / 0 0 0 0 Gage OK 18 46 8 33 / 0 0 20 0 Ponca City OK 12 32 0 21 / 0 10 10 0 Durant OK 22 43 12 30 / 0 0 0 0

OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

OK...Cold Weather Advisory from midnight Friday night to 11 AM CST Saturday for OKZ004>048-050>052.

TX...Cold Weather Advisory from midnight Friday night to 11 AM CST Saturday for TXZ083>090.