Flash Flood Watch Thursday into Friday, Freeze Watch issued Friday into Saturday

(TULSA, Okla.) Severe weather and heavy rain/flooding potential through Thursday night and frost/freeze potential Friday night into Saturday are the main items of mention for this forecast. A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for portions of Oklahoma, including the following counties through Friday morning: Adair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Ottawa, Pittsburg, Pushmataha, Sequoyah and Wagoner. A strong cold front, in association with a large and powerful upper level storm system moved east across the country, and moved across eastern Oklahoma Thursday. An increase in post-frontal showers and storms is expected overnight. Much colder temps will filter into the region behind the front Thursday night. Combine this with the winds, and you get wind chills in the 30s and even some upper 20s by Friday morning. Skies will clear by Friday night and winds will get light with surface high pressure nearby. This will allow temps to crater and several areas will get near or below freezing by Saturday morning. A Freeze Watch is in effect for parts of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas from late Friday night through Saturday morning: WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 32 possible. WHERE...Portions of east central, northeast and southeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. WHEN...From late Friday night through Saturday morning. IMPACTS...These conditions could kill plants and and other tender vegetation that are left outdoors or unprotected. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Precautions should be taken to protect small plants and tender vegetation. The forecast is largely quiet past the potential freeze Saturday morning. A band of warm advection generated showers and storms will spread across the Arklatex Saturday night into Sunday but this activity should stay south. There will be a chance of storms again early next week ahead of another front. The best chances will be in the east/southeast.