0410L-FRIDAY OUTLOOK FROM GARFIELD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 4/14/23

* The FIRE DANGER today is NEAR CRITICAL. Call 911 if you see smoke or fire. I will send an advisory to all fire departments through the Garfield County EM app around mid-morning on the GCEM GROUP channel.

* We are in a MARGINAL RISK but close to a SLIGHT RISK for severe weather later today. As of right now 0330L the main threats for us IF STORMS OCCUR HERE, would be large hail & damaging winds. The tornado threat is very low. Storms are forecast by the SPC to form in Central Kansas and move quickly to the northeast. Storms may backbuild into northern Oklahoma so the slight risk is up there. As storms build and decay, we could see some strong outflow winds come through the area from Kansas. Depending on distance, they could be quite gusty. We’ll wait and see what happens.

* All this mess above I have talked about is because we have a strong cold front up north moving our way, a dryline, and a low pressure system to our west. Timing looks pretty good but the CAP above us will prevent storms at least through the majority of the day and maybe, for us, through the night. If that happens, well, no rain.

*We’ll see how the forecast comes together and changes throughout the day. Will advise over our GARFIELD COUNTY EM app, public channel, GCEM, early this afternoon.

* Here is your forecast from the NWS/NORMAN;

Today-Mostly sunny. Isolated showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs in the mid-80s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight-Partly cloudy. Isolated showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Lows around 50. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

HAVE A GOOD DAY!