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MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... January 14, 2014 January 14, 2014 January 14, 2014 January 14, 2014 Where's Ken Burns when you need him? Tales of woe from drought-plagued western Oklahoma, but where to start? Might as go with the more scenic story. As the cold front swept our 70s out from under our feet on Sunday, the northerly winds that came with it swept something else along with it our in the High Plains ... a good old fashioned 1930s style dust storm. The folks at the Cimarron County Conservation District were kind enough to send us some pics of the towering wall of dirt as it bore down on Cimarron County from SE Colorado. Check out the pictures here and tell me those don't belong in a Ken Burns documentary! http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/1.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/2.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/3.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/4.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/5.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/6.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/7.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/8.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/9.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/10.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/11.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/12.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/13.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/14.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/15.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/16.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/17.jpg From what I can tell searching around various websites, the picture from near La Junta, Colorado, (#6) appears to show the genesis of the event. The Cimarron County folks tell me that the storm swept into the Boise City area around 4 p.m. That fits pretty well from what we can see from the meteogram at Boise City on the 12th. Temperatures drop from the 60s into the 50s in about an hour as winds switch from the west-southwest to northerly and gust to over 50 mph ... right around 4 p.m. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/boise-city-meteogram.png La Junta, Colorado, would be located right around that area of Exceptional Drought (D4) there in SE portions of the state, so not a shock you could get a nice duster started around there. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/20140107_CO_trd.png As you can see, the last 90 days have actually turned out pretty darned horrible. The only saving grace, and this is a toughie, is that it has been cool for the most part as the moisture deficits have once again started to accumulate. And remember for out west, these are moisture deficits that have been going on for more than three years now. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/90day-totals.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/90day-pct.png Relief? Well, we might be waiting awhile. The 7-day moisture forecast from WPC, as well as the 8-14 day CPC outlooks tell us we're going to get a great big heaping bowl of warm, dry January. Just what the doctor DID NOT order. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/7day-rain-forecast.gif Remember, these are maps of probabilities, not amounts, so what you see here indicate increased odds of above normal temps and below normal precipitation across most of the western U.S., including Oklahoma. The dry slant to the moisture extends across most of the U.S., actually. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/814prcp.new.gif http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/814temp.new.gif As for today, much the same scenario that we saw on Sunday with strong winds and low humidity creating high fire danger across the state. Things in SW OK are looking particularly dangerous and thus a Red Flag Fire warning is in effect for that area. Basically, fires may start easily and spread rapidly. No outdoor burning should be occurring. Regardless of the absence of the Red Flag warning over the rest of the state, and despite the slight chance for light rain, the entire state will see enhanced fire danger today. Here's the view from our local NWS offices. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/nws-amarillo.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/nws-norman1.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/nws-norman2.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/nws-norman3.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/nws-norman4.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20140114/nws-tulsa.png We haven't even reached our primary fire season just yet, usually as we get into February, so this is not a good start. Maybe we can douse the fires with dust? Just trying to make lemonade from dirt. Gary McManus State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey (405) 325-2253 gmcmanus@mesonet.org ================================================== The OCS/Mesonet Ticker https://ticker.mesonet.org/ To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Ticker or for questions about the Ticker or its content Phone or Email the Ticker Manager at OCS Phone: 405-325-2253 Email: ticker@mesonet.org --------------------------------------------------- -C- Copyright 2024 Oklahoma Climatological Survey ===================================================