Mesonet Ticker for April 23, 2026

                
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Northern Oklahoma on the clock




Many things to talk about today, and at the top of that list is whether 80s
Arnold Schwarzenegger could beat 2010s "The Rock" (that's Mr. The Rock to you).
Lesser discussions involve how Fun Size Snickers taste different than a full
size bar, and what's the deal with all these flavored ice teas?

It is springtime in Oklahoma, so some other tops are bubbling up, of course.

Severe weather has a couple of possible ways to crash Oklahoma’s Thursday plans.
One is out west late this afternoon, where a dryline could pop a storm or two
capable of turning nasty in a hurry (think of those first few hours after Taco
Bell). The other is more of an evening-to-overnight show, with storms expected to
develop along and ahead of a cold front and spread toward northern and eastern
Oklahoma. That gives the state a split setup: more isolated but potentially
intense storms in the west, and a somewhat more likely  nighttime severe threat
across the north and east, with large hail and damaging winds leading the list,
plus at least some tornado potential.

As for the timing, as per usual be on the lookout later this afternoon to begin
with, then into the early morning on Friday.





Now whilst folks to the east of the dryline are worried about storms, those to
the west, where it still looks like winter with all that yellow and brown
vegetation, they get to worry once again about fire.





Check out the latest Relative Greenness map from the Mesonet's OK-FIRE program.
Pretty easy to see where that dividing line continues to set up across western
OK.



Pretty simple, this will continue until they get rain and green up. Or until it
stops being windy, which for western Oklahoma it normally occurs one day in
July. Unfortunately, for that part of the state, drought is INCREASING, not
decreasing like we're seeing to the east.





And if you look at where we've changed over the last month, that dividing line
between the haves and have-nots is pretty stark (not Tony, he's Doctor Doom
now).



But even in those places where we had good rains, there are still drought signals
because there are still deficits, even over just the last couple of months.







So lots to talk about today, and we didn't even mention this weekend's non-fun!





Wait, I guess I just did.

Gary McManus
State Climatologist
Oklahoma Mesonet
Oklahoma Climate Survey
gmcmanus@ou.edu
                

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