Severe thunderstorms possible Friday

(TULSA, Okla.) Patchy fog or drizzle is possible across much of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas Friday morning. Locally dense fog has formed from near Fort Smith west through portions of east central Oklahoma. Visibility may fall below 1/2 mile, and change rapidly over a short distance. Be cautious for slick spots as well, in areas where the temperature has dropped below freezing (mainly in southeast Oklahoma).

A few strong or severe storms are possible, mainly Friday night, ahead of an arctic cold front which will move through the area early Saturday morning.

Storms will be elevated with minimal instability, but there will be strong forcing for storms and strong shear. This could support large hail from some of the storms. Precipitation will be changing to sleet and snow early Saturday morning behind the cold front, which will rapidly end any severe weather threat.

The front will move through far northeast Oklahoma beginning around midnight through early Saturday morning. Rain will change over fairly quickly to some sort of a wintry mix in eastern Oklahoma - most likely snow or sleet. All areas will have very gusty northwest winds with gusts to 30 to 40 miles per hour tonight through Saturday morning.

A Wind Advisory has been issued from 11 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday for the following Oklahoma Counties: Osage, Washington, Nowata, Craig, Ottawa, Pawnee, Tulsa, Rogers, Mayes, Creek, and Wagoner.

Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles on east-west roads. Wind chills by early Saturday morning will drop down into the 5 to 10 degree range across northeast Oklahoma and far northeast Arkansas.

Motorists should exercise caution while driving.  Be alert to sudden gusts of wind which may cause you to lose control of your vehicle.  Extra attention should be given to cross winds and on bridges and overpasses.

Highs will return to the 50s by Monday. Another progressive wave will slide across the Plains Monday night into Tuesday. Current indications are that any precipitation with this system will be along and ahead of the front, thus no wintry weather is expected at this time.