Unseasonably mild weather and uptick in fire danger to start next week

(TULSA, Okla.) Unseasonably mild weather will be likely Monday as temperatures warm into the upper 50s to near 60 in many locations and a low-level thermal ridge expands east over the area. An approaching cold front will move into northeast Oklahoma by late afternoon. Southwesterly winds will pick up a bit ahead of the front Monday afternoon, not as strong as Sunday, gusting to around 20 mph. This will bring at least a limited fire danger threat again Monday afternoon across portions of eastern Oklahoma. There remains consistent agreement that scattered light rain showers will develop near the front on Monday night across southeast Oklahoma and possibly spreading into west central Arkansas overnight. Rainfall amounts are expected to remain on the light side with this activity. At least low rain chances will persist along the Red River on Tuesday as the front stalls out just south of the area. Wednesday now looks to remain dry across the forecast area, as the leftover frontal boundary washes out over Texas. Southerly low-level flow will return on Wednesday along with weak upper level ridging which will allow temperatures to warm up again to above normal values after a brief cool down on Tuesday. Thursday could be the warmest day of the week ahead of the next frontal boundary with highs reaching 10-15 degrees above normal. The main upper level low will begin to lift northeast from off the Baja California coast on Thursday night, and begin to weaken. Rain chances will begin to increase, first across southern Oklahoma on Thursday afternoon and evening and then spreading north throughout the night. Friday looks to bring the best chance for rain for most areas as the upper low moves over the area. Saturday looks to be another mostly dry day, before another storm system approaches on Saturday night and Sunday, which could bring a chance of thunderstorms for parts of the area Saturday night. M. L. King Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Monday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. North wind around 5 mph. Tuesday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Wednesday Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Light southwest wind becoming south 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Wednesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Thursday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of rain after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Northeast wind around 5 mph. Friday A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Saturday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Saturday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Sunday A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. South wind around 10 mph.