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. . . Ticker for December 7, 2017 . . .
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... December 7, 2017 December 7, 2017 December 7, 2017 December 7, 2017 RRRAARRWHHGWWR!! http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/oklahoma-Hoth.png I didn't know, I didn't know! I spent so much time yesterday working on drought that I had NO CLUE (WATCH IT, PAL!) that we were about to be plunged into an arctic blast of such magnitude. Low temperatures have plummeted thanks to a reinforcing shot of cold air following Monday's cold front (a day in which we set lots of records for high temps). Wind chills have dropped below zero in the northwest, and into the single digits and teens across much of the rest of Oklahoma. And actual air temperatures plummeted into the single digits across the Panhandle. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/todays-low-windchills.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/todays-lows.png That 7 degrees in Boise City is the coldest reading we've seen on the Mesonet since it was lower than that. Oh, the date? Well, that was back on Feb. 25 when Eva dropped down to 5 degrees. Smooth sailing since then. Highs today will jump back into the...mid-30s? Those were good years, but horrible temperatures. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/todays-forecast-highs.png A hard freeze again for the entire state tonight, then a bounce-back into the 60s by this weekend. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/tomorrows-forecast-lows.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/sundays-forecast-highs.png Now what I THOUGHT was going to be the big news of the day was the continuing intensification of drought across the state. We did get some rain across far southeastern OK, which forestalled any intensification in that area. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/3day-rainfall-totals.png Unfortunately, that's the only rain we've had in ages. And we're still faced with growing deficits across nearly all the state. After today, it will have been 70 days (70 DAYS, FOLKS!!) that the western Panhandle has seen at least a quarter-inch of rain, and it's been between 46-67 days since a bunch of the state has seen a tenth of an inch. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/mesonet.rainfall.tenthinch.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/mesonet.rainfall.quarterinch.png And we're now faced with the 12th driest last-60 days since at least 1921 for Oklahoma. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/last60days-totals.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/last60days-pct-normal.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/last60days-depart-normal.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/last60days-stats.png Given the reports of drought-stressed crops (especially winter wheat), low or empty farm ponds, increased fire danger, etc., we asked for another intensification of drought across the state, and the new Drought Monitor map ain't pretty. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20171207/20171205_OK_trd.png Nearly 51% of the state is now in drought, and nearly all the rest is in abnormally dry conditions (drought precursor mode). The big stat there is more than 27% of the state is in at least severe drought. Now this is important that we start to increase those drought levels on the Drought Monitor since some ag relief programs are contingent on that drought designation. We don't take that into consideration when determining drought, but it works in symbiosis with out depiction since agricultural damage is a major "ground truth" when determining drought levels. And that's why those reports from the field we receive here at the Mesonet are so important. It's very easy for us to sit hundreds of miles away just looking at data and tell folks what they're experiencing as far as drought...but if you'll re-read the first part of this sentence, you'll see how ridiculous that statement is. "Hey, my wheat is rapidly dying off. We're in drought!" Sorry, I show you with a good rain 78 days ago, so the 90-day rainfall statistics look pretty good to me. NO DROUGHT. And it can work in reverse. We can detect drought in the data and declare it a meteorological drought even though damages aren't apparent in the ag community. Perhaps it's impacting firefighters? Water managers? Municipal water supplies? Just all the fun types of combinations we get to sort through each week with the Drought Monitor. Of course we'd prefer a blank map...makes our Sunday- Wednesdays a bit easier. But this is Oklahoma...just doesn't seem to happen that way. Gary McManus State Climatologist Oklahoma Mesonet 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 ===================================================