I think it's fair to assume that a good portion of the general population is wondering when the first freeze will fall into Southwest Oklahoma. Whether you look forward to it for the end of allergy season or maybe you're the type of person that looks forward to finally settling on running just the heater for one full day, it's the type of weather event that's harder to predict than tornadoes.

If you haven't seen your weather app this afternoon, SWOK's "Freeze Watch" has been upgraded to a full-blown "Freeze Warning" meaning the odds the temperature will dip below freezing is imminent... sort of.

If you also look at your hourly prediction, as well as the high/low forecast for the next 24 hours, the number gets close to freezing, but there's not an actually predicted freeze.

Kelso
Kelso
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So why the "Freeze Warning" instead of just remaining at a watch?

It's hard to predict the future.

There are too many variants when it comes to unstable weather sometimes to accurately predict what it's going to do. Forecasters have a solid suspicion that it's going to get cold tonight, but as that front takes a dive, odds are there are too many computer models predicting too many different outcomes and not enough freezing reports to nail down an official prediction.

On the other side of that same coin, it could be that Lawton is included in this warning because the forecast is different elsewhere in Comanche County.

When you get away from the city, the temperatures typically drop. It can be half a degree to a few degrees change depending on the lay of the land. Obviously, our concrete works like an energy battery, soaking in all that warm sun during the day then releasing back into the wild as the night progresses.

Odds are if you check your weather app in a few hours, those temperatures will change again throughout the overnight hours. I guess that's just the nature of predicting the uncertain future.

One thing you'll want to do is get your plants either covered or moved to a warmer spot. If it does freeze you could lose whatever it is you've been growing. This is especially true for potted plants and trees. Trash bags work in a pinch, but the specified materials you can score at the big box stores and area nurseries are the best. I'll let you google that for yourself.

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