We end off the first half of 2023 with cloudy afternoon skies & returning rain chances for some this evening | 6/30 AM

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) -

Good morning! July is right on our doorstep, and so is the start of Independence Day celebrations. Today on this final day of June, we will start off with lots of sun in the morning, however that will change after lunchtime when partly-to-mostly cloudy skies will build in. This cloud coverage will aid in keeping a number of locations in Southwest Oklahoma and North Texas from reaching the 100-degree mark, with highs today ranging from the mid 90s to low 100s across the viewing area. Winds will be out of the south at 10-15 mph.

Holiday festivities will begin in some places across Texoma this evening, and this evening will be dry for most (albeit cloudy), however our far western counties could see a few pop-up showers as well as a storm or two. Isolated-to-scattered showers and storms will push east during the overnight hours, with some in Southwest Oklahoma waking up to rain showers on Saturday morning. Temperatures will bottom out in the mid 70s with winds out of the south at 5-15 mph.

Isolated-to-scattered showers and storms will pop-up throughout the morning hours tomorrow, tapering off gradually after lunchtime. This is good news for those that will be attending any Fourth of July festivities and firework celebrations in the afternoon and evening, but the chance for showers and storms won’t decrease entirely during that time. Any storms that do pop-up during the second half the day on Saturday have the potential to be strong-to-severe, but thankfully the threats are on the low end with wind gusts up to only 60s mph and hail only up to the size of quarters. Highs on Saturday will be cooler than any other day this week due to a cold front slowly moving across the area (along with mostly cloudy skies), topping out in the low/mid 90s. Winds will be out of the southwest at 5-15 mph.

Rain chances will hang around on Sunday, but the coverage will be lower than on Saturday and is not expected during the evening hours. Temperatures will once again get up to the low/mid 90s with light winds out of the northeast at 5-10 mph. Sky coverage will return to being partly-to-mostly sunny.

Hit/miss light showers (and a couple storms) will stay in the forecast for nearly all of next week, but a majority of Texoma should be dry for each day under partly sunny skies. Temperatures will return to the mid/upper 90s by the middle of next week, though another ”summer cool-down” could arrive by next Thursday.

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