OKLAHOMA — Severe thunderstorms could develop across parts of Oklahoma on Tuesday as a powerful storm system moves across the southern Plains, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
In a Day 3 outlook issued Sunday evening, the Storm Prediction Center said scattered severe thunderstorms are expected to develop Tuesday from the southern Plains into the southern Great Lakes region. Oklahoma lies within a region where atmospheric conditions could support multiple types of severe weather, including damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.
Meteorologists say the severe weather threat will develop as a strong upper-level trough moves eastward from northern Mexico and the Southwest into the southern Plains. At the same time, another weather system will strengthen across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, helping create a broad area favorable for thunderstorm development.
At the surface, a low-pressure system is expected to form over the central High Plains while a dryline extends southward across the southern Plains, separating warm, humid air to the east from drier air to the west. East of this boundary, warm and moisture-rich air will spread northward across Oklahoma and neighboring states.
Forecasters say the combination of increasing atmospheric instability and strong wind shear will support organized thunderstorms and supercells capable of producing severe weather. A corridor of severe potential is expected across north-central into southern Oklahoma, where semi-discrete supercells could form.
If storms develop in this environment, they could produce damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes. Later in the event, storms may grow into clusters or lines of thunderstorms as a cold front advances, which could increase the risk of damaging winds.
While the overall pattern favors scattered severe thunderstorms across Oklahoma, forecasters say details about the exact timing and location of storms remain uncertain several days in advance. Residents are encouraged to monitor updated forecasts and be prepared for possible severe weather Tuesday.
