MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... December 5, 2011 December 5, 2011 December 5, 2011 December 5, 2011
Zooming back to February, December style
As I type this, I'm reminded that there are two types of people in the world ... those that like this type of weather and the sane, rational majority. But for you cold weather fans, Old Man Winter (aka the JERK) has brought his brand of extremes for a visit. The 11 degrees recorded yesterday at Boise City and the 12-degree readings at Boise City and Kenton today are the lowest temperatures we've seen on the Mesonet since February 12 when Nowata and several other locations reached 10 degrees. Notable since two days previous (Feb. 10), Nowata was a balmy -31 degrees.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20111205/yesterdays-low-temps.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20111205/low-temps.png
So we had a nice 10-month run there. Quite shocking, not only that it has been that long since we've seen temperatures that low but that it didn't get below 12 degrees again after February 12.
Now apparently bottom has also dropped out of the the apparent temperature (wind chill) map as well. Wind chills have been as low as -9 degrees out in the Panhandle with teens and 20s as you go farther south and east.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20111205/lowest-windchills.png
Once again, these are the lowest wind chills seen on the Mesonet's 120 stations since February 11 of this year when Cherokee reached -18 degrees. There were 47 Mesonet stations with below-zero wind chills that day. Also again, notable because the day previous on February 10 the wind chill dipped to -47 degrees at Medford.
************************ By now, we all know that Oklahoma's July and Summer (June-August) were the hottest for any state, on a statewide average basis, since records began in 1895. The statewide average (highs and lows divided by two) temperature this July was 89.3 degrees. Again, hottest for any month for any state since 1895. Ever wonder what Oklahoma's coldest month ever was? Me neither. But I'm going to tell you anyway.
Here are Oklahoma's coldest months since 1895:
Month/Year Ave. Temperature January 1930 23.5 degrees January 1940 23.8 degrees January 1979 24.2 degrees January 1918 25.1 degrees December 1983 25.8 degrees
So just as Oklahoma's NORMAL hottest month (July) dominates the record hottest, Oklahoma's NORMAL coldest month dominates the record coldest. And another reason that July is an infinitely more awesome month than January.
How about coldest months ever in the United States? From our friends at the National Climatic (and always Climactic) Data Center:
Month/Year State Ave. Temp February 1936 North Dakota -14.1 degrees January 1950 North Dakota -10.7 degrees January 1937 North Dakota -9.4 degrees January 1912 Minnesota -8.3 degrees February 1936 Minnesota -6.5 degrees February 1936 South Dakota -5.0 degrees December 1983 North Dakota -2.5 degrees December 1983 Minnesota -0.4 degrees December 1917 North Dakota -0.1 degrees
I'll say nothing to besmirch those fine states, despite their unlivable climate.
Gary McManus Associate State Climatologist Oklahoma Climatological Survey (405) 325-2253 gmcmanus@mesonet.org
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