22-23 November 2003

The first strong arctic cold front of the 2003-2004 winter season whipped through much of the country over the weekend of 22-23 November 2003. The weather pre-front was extremely nice in Oklahoma. Highs on Saturday 22 November were beautiful with readings near 70 degrees on modest southerly breezes. The breeze and increasing moisture in the boundary layer kept temperatures from falling during Saturday evening with the mercury still around 70 degrees at midnight. However, shorly after midnight, the sharp cold front moved through Norman, with temperatures falling over 30 degrees in about an hour. A line of showers and thunderstorms developed just east of the Oklahoma City area shortly after frontal passage with a few locales on the east side of Norman around Lake Thunderbird picking up a couple hundredths of an inch of rain. The west side of the metro remained dry. Strong northerly winds buffeted the area as the front passed through with KJPR recording a peak gust of 41 mph shortly after midnight as the temperatures plummeted. Sunday offered plenty of sunshine, but northwest winds continued to howl at 20-30 mph with wind chills below 20 degress most of the day. High temperatures struggled to reach 40 degrees.

The following are some captured graphs that highlight the frontal passage.

Outside temperature graph:

Wind Direction:

High Wind:

Barometer: