MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... September 13, 2012 September 13, 2012 September 13, 2012 September 13, 2012
Here comes the rain (and coolness)!
BOOM! How's this look to ya?
http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/full.php
Rain is falling in the state, and more is expected. Lots of it. Another strong cold front is making its way across the state, dropping temperatures from the 90s into the 60s and 70s. The latest rainfall forecast from the NWS' HPC sees 1-4 inches in store across the state. While those upper totals might not occur on a widespread basis, the possibility for a good 2-inch soaker across a large region is certainly there.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/5-day-rain.gif
Almost as importantly, it doesn't appear that we will go directly back into 90s and 100s like after last week's cold front. So this rain will be allowed to soak in and stay awhile and not be evaporated away. The 7-day change in the 10-inch soil moisture from the Oklahoma Mesonet shows that diminishing soil moisture quite well.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/7day-change-fwi.png
The soil moisture from the lower depths remains nonexistent across much of the state. Hopefully this rainfall event will begin a long-term change in the other direction.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/10-inch-fwi.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/24inch-fwi.png
In the meantime, the release of this morning's U.S. Drought Monitor map is something of a non-event with the rains that are expected. In light of that, little change was seen since last week's map other than a bit of expansion in D3 down in southeastern Oklahoma. There is no doubt that drought intensification was about to rear its ugly head on the map once again, so this rain is great in its timing.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/ok_dm.png
Lake levels across much of the state have continued their decline even after the somewhat spotty recent rains. Here are a few and their current percent of capacity (conservation pool) as of this morning:
Altus: 18% Foss: 65% Waurika: 58% Ft. Supply: 71% Canton: 45% Thunderbird: 71% Eufaula: 72% Keystone: 74% Skiatook: 73% Ft. Gibson: 44% Tenkiller: 73% Broken Bow: 72% Hugo: 53% Pine Creek: 44%
Those are the major reservoirs, so you could imagine the shape of the smaller stock/farm ponds. These current rains might not fill everything up, but if they can saturate those soils, that's a heckuva start.
The outlooks for much of the rest of September continue to look on the cool side. A large blocking ridge of high pressure is forecast to remain camped off the coast of Greenland, allowing that colder air from up north to slip right down across the eastern half of the U.S. You may remember this pattern from recent hits, such as "Snowmagedden 2009!" and "Snowmagedden 2010!" Luckily we're in September and not December.
Remember, these outlooks portray probabilities, not actual temperature anomalies. But the chances for below normal temperatures throughout much of the rest of the month are greatly increased, at least according to the CPC.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/sep18-22-temps.gif http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120913/sep20-26-temps.gif
Now, bring on the rain! I have two soccer practices tonight I need rained out.
Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey (405) 325-2253 gmcmanus@mesonet.org
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