National Weather Service

Oklahoma is slated to have widespread triple-digit temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday. Much of the state is under a Heat Advisory from the National Weather Service. That’s thanks to a heat dome — basically a big bubble of hot, still air looming over the southern plains.

Red flag warnings mean an increased risk of wildfires in the next 12 to 24 hours, so fire safety is extra important. How do they differ from fire weather watches? And what precautions should you take?

Every thunderstorm or tornado watch you’ve seen was issued by a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman. But until a few weeks ago, those watch issuers had always been men.

As extremely cold weather moves into the state this week, many Oklahomans are looking for ways to keep themselves, their pets, their homes and their vehicles safe and warm.

After nearly a decade, the director of the National Weather Service has stepped down. Getting the public to understand weather is just as important as the science that delivers the forecasts, he says.

It "was not based on science but on external factors including reputation and appearance, or simply put, political," the agency's acting chief scientist wrote.

In the escalating debate over weather projections, meteorologists fear their credibility is at stake.