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. . . Ticker for September 3, 2024 . . .
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... September 3, 2024 September 3, 2024 September 3, 2024 September 3, 2024 It has begun https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/todays-low-wind.chills.png Summer has an expiration date, you know. It doesn't just get to keep going and going and going, thanks to pesky orbital mechanics and planetary tilt. This is very similar to my hair mechanics and baldetary tilt. So when we start seeing wind chills show up in the state (the Panhandle more often than not) for the first time in the fall, it is indeed all downhill from there. And that's CLIMATOLOGICAL fall...meteorologists get all the day-to-day weather fun, we climatologists get the seasonal fun, thank you very much! At any rate, fall started on Sept. 1 and it looks like it on the weather maps as well. Wind chills don't kick in until you get to an actual air temperature of 50 degrees, and then you need wind of course. And to be outside. And have exposed skin. Not TOO MUCH exposed skin, or you'll end up locked in a cell where there probably is no wind chill. So those lows in the 40s in the Panhandle just needed a bit of wind and poof! https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/todays-lows.png It could be worse, though. Amember this? https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/sept3-2000-highs.png Right, THE hottest September 3 in state history. I remember it because it was the day after I attended the OU/UTEP game in Norman and nearly hit my expiration date. Coincidentally, this is also the same time frame my hair hit its expiration date. What, TWO bald jokes in ONE Ticker!?! While we're talking about bad news (hair, not wind chills, although I'm not in favor of wind chills either), the rain forecast mostly fizzled, although heck, it's raining right now for crying out loud! It's just not amounting to much. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/current-radar.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/today.rainrfc.png But it is rain, and we'll take what we can get...the forecast doesn't look promising. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/7day-rain-forecast.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/sept10-16-precip-outlook.png That doesn't look very State-Fair'ish to me. Oh well, stick around down below for a look back at August, and even a look forward to September. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drought Expands Despite Historic Rainfall Sept. 3, 2024 In a display of Oklahoma’s famously chaotic weather patterns, August brought historic rains to portions of central and eastern Oklahoma while drought continued to intensify and spread over other sections of the state. A remarkable 6 to 12 inches of rain fell from northwest to central Oklahoma within 12 hours on Aug. 11, with a volunteer observer near Noble in Cleveland County recording 11.01 inches—a 500-year rainfall event according to NOAA statistics. Oklahoma City set a new record for its highest single-day August rainfall at 6.58 inches, surpassing the previous mark of 5.06 inches set on Aug. 14, 2018. This also ranked as the city’s seventh-highest daily total for any month on record, dating back to 1890. The deluge caused widespread flash flooding, leading to flooded homes and businesses, road closures, and water rescues. Eastern Oklahoma also saw significant rainfall that day, with 4 to 8 inches falling in and around Muskogee County. Another heavy rain event of 4 to 8 inches occurred in far east-central Oklahoma on Aug. 16-17, primarily affecting Adair and Cherokee counties. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/aug11-rainfall.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/cig.Aug16-17.png While these rains eradicated drought conditions locally, drought spread and intensified across other parts of the state. Images of dry farm ponds, dead or dormant pastures, and decimated crops emerged from the drought-afflicted regions. This deterioration was driven by extended periods without significant rainfall and persistent above-normal temperatures. Southwest Oklahoma had its ninth-warmest August since 1895, with temperatures averaging 4 degrees above normal thanks to nearly daily triple-digit highs. By late August, the region had gone 60 to 90 days without a quarter-inch of rain in a single day and over 40 days without even a tenth of an inch. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought coverage more than doubled during August, rising from 22% at the end of July to 48% by the end of August—the highest amount of drought in the state since Oct. 23, 2023. Severe and extreme drought also expanded from 4% to 18%, primarily across the southwestern quarter of the state. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/mesonet.rainfall.quarterinch.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/mesonet.rainfall.tenthinch.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/DM-change.png Oklahoma’s statewide average rainfall for August, as recorded by the Oklahoma Mesonet, was 2.8 inches—0.43 inches below normal—ranking as the 65th-wettest August since records began in 1895. Mesonet rainfall totals varied significantly across the state, from a high of 10.56 inches at Cookson to just 0.06 inches at both Altus and Waurika. Notably, a volunteer observer near Bunch in Adair County recorded 13.04 inches, while another near Noble in Cleveland County reported 11.1 inches for the month. Thirty-two of the Mesonet’s 120 sites recorded at least 4 inches for the month, 17 of those above 5 inches. However, 47 sites saw less than 2 inches. For the climatological summer (June-August), the statewide average rainfall was 9.34 inches—1.35 inches below normal—ranking as the 54th-driest summer on record. Summer totals ranged from 17.33 inches at McAlester to just 1.14 inches at Mangum. The January-August average of 24.64 inches was 0.61 inches below normal, ranking as the 51st-wettest such period on record. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/cig.August2024.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/aug-rain-depart.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/aug-rain-pct.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/cig.Summer2024.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/summer-rain-depart.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/summer-rain-pct.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/cig.Jan-Aug2024.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/jan-aug-rain-depart.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/jan-aug-rain-pct.png The statewide average temperature for August was 83 degrees, according to preliminary data from the Mesonet, 2.2 degrees above normal, making it the 31st-warmest August since 1895. Statewide, temperatures ranged from a high of 113 degrees on Aug. 23 and 24 at several locations to a low of 49 degrees at Eva on the month’s final day. The heat index reached a stifling 123 degrees on Aug. 18 at Okmulgee, with 15 other sites exceeding 115 degrees. Mesonet sites recorded heat index values of 110 degrees or higher 464 times during the month. The summer average temperature was 81.6 degrees—1.6 degrees above normal—ranking as the 21st-warmest on record. The first eight months of the year were the sixth-warmest since 1895, with an average temperature of 64.6 degrees, 2 degrees above normal. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/august-temps.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/august-temps-depart.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/summer-avg-temps.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/summer-temps-depart.png The September outlook from the Climate Prediction Center offers some hope for parched areas in far southern Oklahoma. The temperature outlook predicts above-normal temperatures across most of the state, with higher odds in the far northwest, while the southeastern corner is expected to experience more typical conditions. The rainfall outlook show equal chances for above-, below-, or near-normal rainfall, except in far southern Oklahoma, where there are increased odds for above-normal precipitation. As a result, the CPC’s September Drought Outlook indicates potential drought improvement along the Red River, while drought conditions are expected to persist in other parts of the state. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/september-outlooks.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20240903/September-drought-outlook.png ### Gary McManus State Climatologist Oklahoma Mesonet Oklahoma Climate Survey gmcmanus@ou.edu ================================================== 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 ===================================================