Go back to the Ticker Home Page!

. . . Other Tickers . . .
Previous Ticker: May 17, 2023	Following Ticker: May 24, 2023
. . . Tell Others . . .
Share     Tweet
. . . Ticker for May 18, 2023 . . .
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... May 18, 2023 May 18, 2023 May 18, 2023 May 18, 2023 WHOO-HOO!! https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/may23-27-precip-outlook.jpg WHOO-HOO INDEED! Before I get started, or start before I getted, let me just say it HAS rained out west, and heck, it's raining right now for crying out loud! https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/rainrfc.24hr.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/current-radar.png And furthermore, or more further, our "have-nots" over our current rainy period are starting to shrink. I know the folks in Roger Mills, Dewey and Custer counties felt left out, so that should ease the deficits out there for a bit, but we still have some of those light-to-dark green holes to fill as we gaze out through the 30-day period. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/30day-rain-totals.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/del30day_rain.current.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/pct30day_rain.current.png Those departure and percent of normal maps don't take into account today's rainfall, so we're missing some of those totals out west. But again, things are looking up, especially for western Oklahoma. All the signs point towards a wetter next couple of weeks across all of Oklahoma, but especially the western half. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/7day-rain-forecast.gif A cold front should slide in the state overnight, kicking up another round of showers and storms, in addition to the possible trigger provided by the current convection kicking out an outflow boundary here and there. Areas of training thunderstorms set up a possible flash flood hazard, as well as the chance for some severe weather. Nothing high end, but enough to stay weather aware. And then again tomorrow as the front slides farther southeast. As per usual, the tornado threat both days is low, but not zero. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody1.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody1_TORN.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody1_WIND.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody1_HAIL.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody2.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody2_TORN.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody2_WIND.png https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/OK_swody2_HAIL.png Back to the rain, what we've seen from last Tuesday 7am to this Tuesday 7am was used to ease the drought depiction on the Drought Monitor just a bit, so any rain that has fallen since that cutoff period will be used on next week's map. But the map is improving nonetheless. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/20230516_ok_trd.png The 30.7% of the state in D3-D4 drought is the lowest total we've seen since July 19, 2022, and after it peaked at 86% of the state on Oct. 11, 2022. But that's also a reminder that summer is coming, whether we like it or not, and we need to build up a reserve of surface and soil moisture to withstand the hot weather. In that regard, CPC's summer outlooks call for increased odds of above normal temperatures (SHOCKER!) and above normal precip, but confined to the far eastern edge of Oklahoma. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/june-august-outlooks.png The presence of above normal summer temperatures alone is enough to further drought concerns, even in the event of "normal" rainfall amounts. However, CPC's drought outlook does call for improved drought conditions by the end of August, if not downright removal. https://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20230518/season_drought.png So we have favorable forecasts, both short- and long-term, for drought prospects across Oklahoma. And then, Mother Nature is gonna take those into advisement and do what she wants to do anyway, so the best thing to do is stay hopeful and stay tuned. 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 ===================================================