MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... July 25, 2012 July 25, 2012 July 25, 2012 July 25, 2012
It's about to rain, let's see where we're at
Since it's looking more and more like the state is going to get at least *some* rain scattered about in the next few days ...
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/5-day-rain.gif
let's take a final look at where we're at now before we start gathering the animals two-by-two. I think these consecutive days without 0.25" and 0.10" of rain maps from the Oklahoma Mesonet are pretty telling.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/mesonet.rainfall.tenthinch.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/mesonet.rainfall.quarterinch.png
Telling indeed! A bit of explanation ... these maps show the consecutive days, midnight-to-midnight, without the appropriate amount of rainfall. That is not to say that a quarter or tenth of an inch could not have fallen, but it didn't happen within that midnight-midnight time frame. Still, it's a pretty good indication of how long the state has been without significant rainfall. Waurika down in Jefferson County has gone 41 days without a 0.10" rainfall event in a calendar day. Wow! And it's been just slightly hot during this time frame as well. Not to be outdone, Watonga and Norman upped the ante with 48 days! I can confirm that in the Norman area. I have lots of cracks showing up in my yard, and nary a plumber in sight.
A tenth of an inch is pretty much nothing in this heat anyway. You could spit on the sidewalk and get pretty much the same sizzle. The quarter-inch maps are even worse and indicate that when it has rained, it's generally been pretty light. Any rain we get will be great, obviously, but indications are the heat will return this weekend and set up again for next week. Here are the latest 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center.
6-10 day CPC outlooks (July 30-August 3) http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/610prcp.new.gif http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/610temp.new.gif
8-14 day CPC outlooks (August 1-7) http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/814prcp.new.gif http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20120725/814temp.new.gif
Those are clearly demonstrate the expectation of the dreaded heat dome to be parked over us again through those periods, with INCREASED ODDS of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. Remember, they don't show how far above or below normal it could be, but it's summer in Oklahoma during a drought under a heat dome. Use your imagination.
This could change in a hurry, but again, summer in Oklahoma. This is the pattern I would expect anyway. The presence of the drought compounds things. So if it rains in your area, go out and celebrate! Maybe we can slow this runaway drought down for a few days. But the hottest days of the summer might still be in front of us.
Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey (405) 325-2253 gmcmanus@mesonet.org
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