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. . . Ticker for June 10, 2010 . . .
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... June 10, 2010 June 10, 2010 June 10, 2010 June 10, 2010 The Droughtman Cometh I'm not sure what could be more unwelcome in Oklahoma right now, other than perhaps a call from Big XII commissioner Dan Beebe, but drought has officially developed in southwestern Oklahoma. Now I say "officially" simply because it has been designated as such by the newest version of the U.S. Drought Monitor: http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/ok_dm.png Drought is not something that suddenly develops, of course, but conditions have continued to worsen in that area since the beginning of the year. With wheat harvest passing through, there will soon be a sea of plowed fields exposing what little soil moisture is left in that area to the mercy of the summer sun and winds. As you can see from this Fractional Water Index (FWI) map from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the FWI for Weatherford is now zero, zilch and nada (in that order). That's dry, folks. http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/mesonet.daily.current.FW25.grad.png That area simply hasn't enjoyed the rain other parts of the state has over the last 30, 60, 90, 120 days: http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/last30daystot.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/last60daystot.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/last90daystot.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/last120daystot.png And those deficits add up: http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/last120dayspct.png The danger now is that we're just entering our normal transition period from spring to summer when the rain spigots turn off and the heat ratchets up a notch. Here's proof, courtesy of our fine research folks here at OCS. These are daily-averaged precipitation and temperature plots for the Oklahoma Mesonet over the 1994-2008 time frame: http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/9408_stat_rain.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20100610/9408_stat_tair.jpg Wow, did I just claim to prove summer?? Okay. But there is something very interesting in that rainfall plot. Notice the sudden drop off in daily precipitation right around the middle of June? That is the mid-June transition to summer that everybody who lives here already knows about, but now it's shown graphically. So, yes, drought is a very unwelcome guest arriving at the beginning of summer because the chance for alleviation is much smaller. Now every summer season doesn't necessarily follow the climatological game plan, so the hope for rain is not a lost cause just yet. But, it's something to be watched. Drought Summertime drought in Oklahoma tends to be rather unpleasant, after all. Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey gmcmanus@mesonet.org (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 ===================================================