South to southwest winds will gust to near 25 mph during the midday hours across east central and southeast Oklahoma, and to near 30 mph in the terrain of northwest Arkansas, before backing off this afternoon. The gusty winds and dry conditions will yield limited fire spread potential.
Strong south winds, with gusts to near 40 mph, are expected across portions of eastern Oklahoma. The strong winds, warm temperatures and dry conditions will yield elevated to near critical fire spread potential. Rising dewpoints will hold humidities up during the afternoon, limiting the overall threat.
Thunderstorm potential increases Wednesday afternoon and especially into Wednesday night ahead of a storm system and cold front. There is a limited risk of severe storms Wednesday night from southeast Oklahoma into northwest Arkansas. Large hail is the main threat. There is a very low, but non-zero, threat of damaging wind or a tornado over far southeast Oklahoma. Multiple rounds of showers and storms are possible across eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas Wednesday and Wednesday night, increasing the potential for locally heavy rainfall. The flood threat will be limited by the recent drought conditions, however.
As colder temperatures filter into the region behind the cold front, a band of wintry precipitation, mainly in the form of snow, is forecast to affect portions of northeast Oklahoma and far northwest Arkansas on Thursday as the storm system moves overhead. At this time, snow accumulation potential will be highest north of I-44 and closer to the Kansas and Missouri borders. Some travel impact and minor disruption to daily life is possible. The snow will exit the region by Thursday night.