MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... February 7, 2011 February 7, 2011 February 7, 2011 February 7, 2011
Yes Virginia, there was a January
It's been so boring weather-wise around here this last week or so it totally escaped me to provide you with a January summary, so here goes:
1. It was cold. 2. It was dry.
Okay okay,the month was more exciting than that! To wit:
3. It was windy.
For a more sane and detailed summary of the month, keep scrolling. But not before reading more about cold weather.
As it turns out, February 2, 2011, was the coldest day in Mesonet history based on the statewide-averaged mean temperature. The Mesonet temperature records date back to March 1997. Here are the top-10(11) coldest such days in Mesonet history:
1. 9.7 degrees 2/2/2011 2. 11.0 degrees 2/3/2011 3. 13.7 degrees 1/8/2010 4. 14.3 degrees 2/24/2003 5. 14.4 degrees 12/221998 6. 14.7 degrees 12/8/2005 7. 15.4 degrees 2/1/2011 8. 15.5 degrees 1/9/2010 9. 15.7 degrees 12/12/2000 10. 16.6 degrees 1/6/2004 10. 16.6 degrees 2/15/2007
Three of the top 10 came with this month's arctic blast, and 5 of the top 10 came in 2010 and 2011. Now if we widen our field again to include statewide- averaged NWS COOP data, which for our purposes date back to about 1915, we see that last week's cold snap still ranks as one of the top-30 coldest in state history. COOP records pre-date 1915, but it is difficult to establish a statewide average until more stations came along, hence the 1915 start date.
Here are the top 10 from the COOP network. As you can see, Decembers of 1989 and 1983 dominate the records:
1. 1.8 degrees 12/22/1989 2. 2.8 degrees 12/23/1989 3. 3.4 degrees 12/22/1983 4. 4.6 degrees 12/24/1983 5. 4.9 degrees 12/25/1983 6. 5.0 degrees 1/4/1947 7. 5.1 degrees 1/17/1930 8. 5.7 degrees 1/12/1918 9. 5.8 degrees 1/4/1959 9. 5.8 degrees 12/23/1983
Now, for the promised January summary:
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The month was dry and cold, as Januaries are prone to be in Oklahoma, and its historical rankings reflect those traits. Drought conditions continued to spread thanks to a statewide average precipitation total of less than a quarter of an inch. That amounts to a deficit of more than an inch for the month and the sixth driest January on record since 1895. The statewide average temperature fell 1.3 degrees below normal to rank as the 33rd coldest January on record. Very little snow fell, although a couple of storms provided decent amounts for a few areas. Broken Bow and Ponca City both reported 5 inches of snow for the month. Very little in the way of traditional severe weather occurred, although high winds and low relative humidity combined at times to produce wildfires, especially late in the month when conditions were warmer.
Precipitation The stingy skies during January continued a problem seen since early fall, and the December-January period looked equally bleak with a deficit of over 2 inches, the fifth driest such period on record. Northeastern- through central- Oklahoma were particularly dry over those two months, ranked as the second- and third-driest on record for those areas, respectively. The Mesonet station at Broken Bow led the state?s precipitation totals with 1.47 inches for January. Many, many stations were relatively dry for the entire month, although Tipton won the actual prize with a total of 0.02 inches.
Temperature The lack of moisture during the month did not come with a similar lack of cold air. Several powerful cold fronts kept the state in an arctic deep freeze, interspersed with a few days of spring-like warmth. The highest temperature recorded by the Mesonet was 78 degrees at both Fairview and Butler on the 28th and Oilton on the 29th. Oklahoma City and Tulsa set tied record highs on the 29th with 76 degrees and McAlester did the same with 74 degrees that same day. The month?s low temperature of -8 degrees occurred at Hooker on the eighth.
Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey 405-325-2253 gmcmanus@mesonet.org
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