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. . . Ticker for October 5, 2023 . . .
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... October 5, 2023 October 5, 2023 October 5, 2023 October 5, 2023 And so it begins https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/saturday-morning-lows.png By the way, I'm glad to see the vanilla Frostys back at Wendy's, following that summer sojourn into just strawberry and chocolate. But even Wendy's can't escape the pumpkin spice insanity. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/PumpkinSpiceFrosty.jpg Et tu (and three and four), Wendy's? Anyway, look at those low temperatures. That'll freeze your pumpkins (and we all know just how painful that can be). That'll be the coldest weather we've seen in the state since May 3, when Nowata dropped to 32 degrees, which is also the last freeze we've seen in the state. Ugh, not looking forward to talking about freezes again. Can't we just stick to Frostys? How about that rain though? https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/2day-rain-totals.png Not great for everybody, but awesome for a lot. Not a drought-buster for most, but a drought delayer for many. Not a great writer, but I am not a great writer. WAIT! Back to weather...at least parts of south central Oklahoma finally got some significant rainfall, although far SW OK missed out AGAIN. If you look at that map in conjunction with this week's U.S. Drought Monitor released this morning, you can see some areas with possible improvements. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/20231003_ok_trd.png And just in the nick of time, too. Sure, and the time of Nick if that suits ya. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/nick-jonas.png Nick of time...oh yeah, look at the total amount of drought (D1-D4) as compared to last week's map: 46.76% last week to 45.30% this week. Yay, right? But then look at the "at least severe drought" (D2-D4) percentages: 30.93% last week to 32.40% this week? Say what? And then at least extreme drought (D3-D4): 12.91% to 14.34%. What devilry is this? Well, the change map gives us a better look. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/current_OK_chng_1W.png So some improvements again from last week in the far SE and the western Panhandle, but worse down across south central and SW OK where areas of "bad" drought worsened. Our next chance of rain comes later next week and is just now starting to show up on the forecast maps. Of course, a ways away, so this could all go *POOF* and go away. Don't believe me? Ask my scalp! https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/7day-rain-forecast.gif Back to those temperatures, I think we might see a frost here and there across northern OK on Saturday morning with clear skies and a reinforcing shot of cold, dry air the day before. Winds will be very light, and so in those low lying areas, we could see temperatures get down into that 35-36 degrees range that is magical for frost. Heck (no, not raining), I wouldn't be shocked to see it all around the state, nor would I be shocked if somebody drops to the freezing mark, albeit briefly (Albeit Briefly was my band's name in parochial school!). Temperatures are squarely in fall territory for the next few days, including that FALL winter Saturday. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/saturday-highs.png Enjoy it whilst you can't (because you really CAN'T enjoy cold weather...FACT!), above normal temps are back next week. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/nws-norman-7day-temps.png However, remember our climatologog...climateolog...climatogolo...climate lesson we talked about a few weeks back. Sure, the above normal temperatures will come back, they always do here in Oklahoma. But as the "normal" goes downward in a death spiral to winter, so do the above normal temperatures, following that "normal" curve downward (but still above it) thanks to shorter days, lower sun angle, etc. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20231005/statewide-avg-high.temps.png But we are getting into the time of year when many people enjoy those above normal temperatures, at least for short periods of time. Gary McManus State Climatologist Oklahoma Mesonet Oklahoma Climatological Survey 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 ===================================================