Cold in Oklahoma, January 19, 2024

Name: Cold in Oklahoma, January 19, 2024
Start: 2024-01-19T01:00
End: 2024-01-19T11:00
Location: Oklahoma

January 19, 2024 · NWS OUN · 19 events in 19 counties and zones

A high latitude airmass settled across northern portions of the WFO Norman Forecast Area on the morning of the 19th. This resulted in wind chill values ranging from -5 to -20-degrees across portions of the area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 19 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 19

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 18, 10:14 PM CST, 2 hours 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 10:14 PM CST, 2 hours 46 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Norman OK
1014 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

...New UPDATE...

.UPDATE...
Issued at 1001 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

Stronger wind gusts will decrease from north to south overnight,
so expect portions of the current advisory to be cancelled in that
fashion. Higher terrain and areas immediately downwind of the
Wichitas and Arbuckles will likely see the 40 to 50 mph winds last
longer through the night.

Wind chill values may briefly approach advisory levels across the
northern third or so of Oklahoma for a few hours late tonight and
early Friday morning.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(This evening through Friday)
Issued at 402 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

Temperatures have climbed into the 40s and 50s across the region,
with some isolated areas of 60s in far western Oklahoma and north
Texas. These recently warmer temperatures will be short lived, as
the colder surge of air has begun moving south and east through
western Kansas. With this secondary surge of colder air, a cold
front will move through overnight tonight into Friday morning, with
strong northerly winds behind the front. Overnight lows will drop
back into the 10s and low 20s. Wind chills are expected to be in the
single digits, with negative wind chills across far northern
Oklahoma. There has been some discussion in the office on a Wind
Chill Advisory, however wind chills have been near the threshold for
an advisory and short period temporally, so one has not been issued.
If wind speeds end up underforecasted, the potential for a wind
chill advisory will be re-evaluated.

Friday conditions are expected to be partly cloudy and cooler, with
highs in the 20s and low 30s. Northerly winds will gradually
decrease throughout the day, becoming calm and variable by Friday
evening as an upper level ridge builds throughout the region.

Zwink

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Friday night through next Wednesday)
Issued at 402 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

With the decreasing winds and clear skies, Friday night into
Saturday morning will be the coldest evening, with lows dropping
into the 10s and single digits across the region. With the upper
level ridge shifting over the region Saturday into Sunday, there'll
be a slow but gradual increase of temperatures through the weekend
as surface winds slowly shift out of the south and begins advecting
moisture and warmer air into the region.

An upper level trough will begin to move into the region late Sunday
night into Monday. With the ongoing moisture and warm air advection
into region, chances of precipitation across the region begins
increasing, with multiple chances throughout the week. Precipitation
chances will begin to increase across southeastern Oklahoma and
northern Texas Sunday night, before expanding across portions of
central Oklahoma early Monday morning. The main concern with this
precipitation will be the chance of some wintry precipitation, in
particular freezing rain early in the event.

The potential for freezing rain is still highly uncertain, as
surface temperatures will be fairly close to 32F, and the arrival of
sufficient moisture for precipitation is still variable between
model runs as well, with the most recent set of models/ensembles
trending a bit later. This is one of the more difficult scenarios as
a forecaster, as any deviations in either direction
temperature/timing wise can lead to significant changes of impacts.
The current thinking is that portions of southeastern Oklahoma will
see ice, and we'll see a transition pretty quickly late Monday
morning into Monday afternoon to all rain. Travel impacts in at
least southeastern Oklahoma are anticipated, with the cold airmass
in place over the weekend enhancing any potential impacts. How long
those impacts will occur before the transition, as well as the
spatial extent of the ice remain highly variable.

As the warm air advection continues into the region, any potential
for ice will end by Monday afternoon, and any precipitation
occurring Monday afternoon through the next week will be rain.

Zwink

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 927 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

SCT/BKN MVFR clouds will continue to move across portions of the
area overnight. Otherwise, VFR ceilings with some mid/high clouds
will affect the area this TAF period. Gusty north winds will
continue overnight into early Friday. Wind speeds will begin to
decrease and gradually shift towards the NE Friday
afternoon/evening.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Oklahoma City OK  14  27  12  29 /   0   0   0   0
Hobart OK         17  32  14  32 /   0   0   0   0
Wichita Falls TX  19  34  16  34 /   0   0   0   0
Gage OK           12  30  10  31 /   0   0   0   0
Ponca City OK     10  25   8  24 /   0   0   0   0
Durant OK         19  33  16  36 /   0   0   0   0

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...Wind Advisory until 6 AM CST Friday for OKZ014-016-021>025-
     027>031-033>042-044>046.

TX...Wind Advisory until 6 AM CST Friday for TXZ083>090.

&&

SHORT TERM...11
LONG TERM....50
AVIATION...25

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 18, 5:48 PM CST, 7 hours 12 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED
National Weather Service Norman OK
548 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-200000-
Harper-Woods-Alfalfa-Grant-Kay-Ellis-Woodward-Major-Garfield-
Noble-Roger Mills-Dewey-Custer-Blaine-Kingfisher-Logan-Payne-
Beckham-Washita-Caddo-Canadian-Oklahoma-Lincoln-Grady-McClain-
Cleveland-Pottawatomie-Seminole-Hughes-Harmon-Greer-Kiowa-Jackson-
Tillman-Comanche-Stephens-Garvin-Murray-Pontotoc-Coal-Cotton-
Jefferson-Carter-Johnston-Atoka-Love-Marshall-Bryan-Hardeman-
Foard-Wilbarger-Wichita-Knox-Baylor-Archer-Clay-
548 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of northern...
western...central...and southern Oklahoma...and western north
Texas.

.DAY ONE...Tonight...

.Wind Chill...
A strong cold front will bring very cold wind chills this evening
through early Friday morning. Wind chill values may range from 0
to 5 degrees below zero across at least the northern half of
Oklahoma.

.Strong Wind...
Behind the cold front, widespread wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph can
be expected for about 4 to 6 hours after the front passes. Toward
and after daybreak Friday, northerly winds will slowly subside
through the day.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday...

.Wind Chill...
Wind chill values may range from 0 to 5 degrees below zero across
at least the northern half of Oklahoma Friday morning.

.Freezing Rain...
Light freezing rain is possible late Sunday night and Monday
morning across central and southeast Oklahoma. Ice accumulations
are possible. Temperatures are forecast to rise above freezing by
noon Monday and allow additional precipitation to fall as rain.

Get graphics and more details at weather.gov/norman...and follow
our weather forecast office on Twitter and Facebook.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 18, 10:37 PM CST, 2 hours 23 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
1037 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1025 PM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 W Medicine Park       34.73N 98.56W
01/18/2024  M59 MPH          Comanche           OK   Mesonet

            Post cold front northerly winds.

&&

Local storm report, Jan 18, 10:52 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
1052 PM CST Thu Jan 18 2024

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1045 PM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 W Medicine Park       34.73N 98.56W
01/18/2024  M60 MPH          Comanche           OK   Mesonet

            Post cold front northerly wind.

&&

Local storm report, Jan 19, 12:35 AM CST, 25 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
1235 AM CST Fri Jan 19 2024

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1155 PM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 W Medicine Park       34.73N 98.56W
01/18/2024  M63 MPH          Comanche           OK   Mesonet

            Post-frontal north wind.

&&

JAT

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

19 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Alfalfa

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Alfalfa forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.731, -98.324 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Blaine

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Blaine forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.875, -98.433 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Caddo

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Caddo forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.174, -98.375 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Canadian

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Canadian forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.542, -97.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Cleveland

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Cleveland forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.203, -97.326 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Garfield

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Garfield forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.379, -97.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Grant

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.796, -97.786 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Hughes

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Hughes forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.048, -96.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Kay

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Kay forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.818, -97.144 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Kingfisher

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Kingfisher forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.945, -97.942 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Lincoln

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.703, -96.881 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Logan

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.919, -97.443 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Major

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Major forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.312, -98.536 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Noble

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Noble forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.389, -97.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Oklahoma

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Oklahoma forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Payne

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Payne forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.077, -96.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Pottawatomie

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Pottawatomie forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.207, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Seminole

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Seminole forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.168, -96.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Woods

When: January 19, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Woods forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 36.767, -98.865 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2024 Every state in 2024 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, January 2024

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1152264, 1152265, 1152266, 1152267, 1152268, 1152269, 1152270, 1152271, 1152272, 1152273, 1152274, 1152275, 1152276, 1152277, 1152278, 1152280, 1152281, 1152282, 1152283.