MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... April 17, 2013 April 17, 2013 April 17, 2013 April 17, 2013
Awareness
Oklahoma is in the crosshairs for severe weather today. The Storm Prediction Center (shouldn't that be "Storms" prediction center?) has us in the "Moderate" risk area for today, right along the dreaded I-44 corridor.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/day1otlk_1200.gif
Hey, at least it's not a high risk! Stay tuned, however. The setup today brings an enhanced risk of lions and tigers and bears, oh my? And by lions, tigers and bears, we're talking about our old non-favorites hail, severe winds, and tornadoes.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/day1probotlk_1200_hail.gif http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/day1probotlk_1200_torn.gif http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/day1probotlk_1200_wind.gif
Scared yet? "You will be. You...will...be." No no no. Yoda is not appropriate here. After all, we have nothing to fear but fear itself, right? I think FDR trumps Yoda in this case. This is simply a call to be weather aware today. As I've said numerous times, stay tuned to the NWS offices in your area, as well as your local media. They will keep you safe and prepared. It's a fairly complex setup today so things will be changing throughout the day.
Heavy rains are still looking likely, so as is customary for drought relief, we might be dealing with floods of the river and flash variety before this is over. The WPC shows from 1-3 inches (or more in localized areas) falling across the state, with more in the east and less in the west. What else is new, eh?
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/3day-rain.gif
And the west needs rain. Badly. It has now been 40-50 days since the Panhandle has seen a day with at least a tenth of an inch of rain. 123 DAYS FOR KENTON! Basically the same thing for days with at least a quarter-inch.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/mesonet.rainfall.tenthinch.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/mesonet.rainfall.quarterinch.png
And this shows up over the last 60 days. The fringes of Oklahoma (you know who you are) show dryness over several times scales. Some nice hefty totals showing up as well, which has led to nice drought relief.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/last60daystot.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/last60dayspct.png
In fact, you can see how the Drought Monitor has changed over varying time scales. Pay particular attention to the lower right map, the change since Oct. 1, 2012.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/dm-change-6maps.png
So more drought relief is in store. Tomorrow's map will reflect improvements from last week's rains, and next week's map will reflect this week's rains. I believe we will see a relatively large area completely out of drought on next week's map.
"Relatively" being the key word. We just have to suffer through whatever comes with that relief today.
Oh, by the way, here's one more freeze for ya.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130417/friday-morning-lows.png
Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey (405) 325-2253 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
===================================================
|