MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... April 8, 2010 April 8, 2010 April 8, 2010 April 8, 2010
Fe Fi Fo Freeze
The lack of a significant hard freeze should keep our greens green. While the western half of the state did see below-freezing temperatures for a few hours, most of those areas escaped without much time spent below 28 degrees:
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100408/hours_below_28.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100408/hours_below_32.png
Southerly breezes should return tonight and keep most of the state above freezing. Perhaps much of the state has had its last freeze?
El Nino continues to weaken
The current El Nino episode, which reached "strong" status this winter, has begun to weaken in the equatorial pacific. If it continues to weaken as expected, its effects on our weather (and points south) will continue to diminish. As stated previously, we are normally not significantly affected by ENSO episodes, but the current El Nino was strong enough to increase rainfall in the southern half of the state and contribute to lower temperatures (especially maximum temperatures). Keep in mind these events tend to have some momentum with them, so the effects can linger even as the event wanes.
Take a look at the April-May-June precipitation anomalies and the frequency that the anomalies occurred during El Nino events. You can see that while there has been a tendency for above normal precipitation across the western two- thirds of the state, the frequency of occurrence of those anomalies is extremely low.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100408/el_nino_precip.png
The temperature anomalies show that El Nino events generally don't affect our temperatures in Oklahoma during April-May-June.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100408/el_nino_temps.png
Finally, more and more models are forecasting a transition through summer and fall from ENSO-neutral conditions into a La Nina event. A few models keep the current El Nino event in place into next winter, however (more negative numbers mean La Nina, more positive numbers mean El Nino ... ENSO Neutral conditions live in between the two).
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100408/enso_outlooks.png
And remember, a La Nina event CAN mean drier and warmer cold-season weather for us in Oklahoma. But again, the effects of La Nina and El Nino are generally more significant farther to the south.
Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey (405) 325-2253
==================================================
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
===================================================
|