Fall will begin with rain

(TULSA, Okla.) During the day Monday, the mid-level ridge of high pressure is predicted to begin lifting northeast. This will allow for moisture from Tropical Storm Beta to begin streaming northward into the region as the system nears the Texas Coast. In response, rain chances along with an isolated thunderstorm potential will become possible across far Southeast Oklahoma during the morning hours and spread northward across Southeast Oklahoma and West Central Arkansas Monday afternoon. One limiting factor to the onset of precipitation will be overcoming the mid-level dry air currently over the region. This should aid in keeping precipitation chances mainly along and south of Interstate 40. By Monday night into Tuesday there will be widespread rain showers. There is a continued slight chance that thunderstorms will overtake the dry air and spread over the region as precipitable water values around 2 inches look to lift into the region with Tropical Storm Beta moving onshore. At the same time, a mid/upper level low is predicted to develop across the region. This will aid in the continued showers/slight chance of thunderstorms over the area into Wednesday before the upper low begins to exit, pushing the remnants of the tropical system and its associated moisture plume off to the east. Precipitation chances are forecast to taper off from west to east during the day Wednesday and exit Wednesday night/Thursday morning. From the widespread rainfall forecast over much of the area for the first half of the work week, forecast rainfall amounts will be in the 1 to 3-inch range with locally higher amounts possibly up toward 5 inches across Southeast Oklahoma into parts of Western Arkansas. Lesser amounts are forecast across Northeast Oklahoma. Monday night through Tuesday evening looks to be like the greater potential for the higher precipitation amounts for the County Warning Area. In the wake of the exiting low pressure, an area of high pressure looks to spread back over the region with temperatures rebounding back toward the seasonal average into the weekend. The warmest day looks to be Saturday with temps in the 80s. A cold front is forecast to push into/through the region Saturday night and Sunday. There will be an additional shower and thunderstorm chance as the boundary moves through. Monday Sunny, with a high near 80. East wind around 5 mph. Monday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Tuesday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 70. East wind around 5 mph. Tuesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. East wind around 5 mph. Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. East wind around 5 mph. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. North wind around 5 mph. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 78. North wind around 5 mph. Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Friday Sunny, with a high near 81. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night Clear, with a low around 63. South wind around 10 mph. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Saturday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. North wind 5 to 10 mph.