Fire weather and severe storms in store for next week

(TULSA, Okla.) Fire weather continues to be the main concern through the middle of the week, with severe storm and heavy rain potential becoming the main concerns late this week into next weekend. A few places will once again reach near red flag criteria Monday afternoon. Overall, humidity values are expected to be slightly higher Monday, and increasing high level cloudiness by afternoon may have a minor effect on temperatures as well, so we will hold off on any headlines for Monday at this time. Gusty southerly winds will continue through Thursday, but increasing humidity values after Monday will likely slightly improve fire weather conditions. An elevated fire weather danger will persist however. Shower and thunderstorm chances will commence late Wednesday night and Thursday, with more widespread convection expected Thursday night and Friday as a frontal boundary sags slowly south into the area. Severe storms will be possible, along with locally heavy rainfall. Shower and storm chances will continue through next weekend as the front will be slow to clear the area, if it does at all. The long-range models diverge on the handling of the southwest upper low as well during this time frame, and have shown little run to run consistency, so precipitation chances need to be maintained throughout the entire weekend. Monday Increasing clouds, with a high near 71. South wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Monday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Tuesday Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Wednesday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. South wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Wednesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Thursday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Thursday Night A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east after midnight. Friday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 65. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Friday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Saturday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Saturday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. North wind around 10 mph. Sunday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. North wind around 10 mph.