MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... December 14, 2015 December 14, 2015 December 14, 2015 December 14, 2015
Well that was interesting
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/panhandle-snow.jpg
That snow-blasted tree sent in by a Ticker reader from the Texhoma area in southern Texas County gives probably gives quite a few of the down-state folks "snow envy." Not me, of course. I'm rather enjoying the recent spat of 60s and 70s. Or at least I was, until...
Another weekend, another storm system, another blizzard in the Panhandle, another chance for me to use a sentence with a lot of anothers in it. And that's not even a word! But we did see another bout of a spring/fall/winter system complete with tornadoes (none in OK that I know of, but across the border in the Texas Panhandle and also NE Texas), heavy rain, and snow. The rainfall totals look to be the greatest in the NW, NC and then the eastern third of the state. Extremely heavy rains across SE OK led to flooding.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/rainrfc.48hr.png
And in case we were still worried about that new annual statewide average rainfall record verifying, we're now up to almost 2 inches for the month of December, so adding that onto the January-November total of 48 inches should belay any of those fears.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/dec1-14-stats.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/dec1-14-pct-normal.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/dec1-14-totals.png
The snow totals I've seen from out across the western Panhandle range from about a foot in the NE wart of Cimarron County to about 3 inches in Beaver in the eastern Panhandle. Combine that with winds gusting to near 50 mph in some cases and you're living in a winter non-wonderland (hence the snow-blasted tree above).
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/nws-amarillo-snow.totals.gif
Nothing unexpected here during this super-strong El Nino year. We looked at the snowfall from the last two similarly strong El Ninos (1982-83 and 1997-98) and sure enough, the far NW and Panhandle tended to get pounded whilst the results for the rest of the state were a bit more mixed.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20150814/1982-83-snow.totals.png http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20150814/1997-98-snow.totals.png
Okay, enough of that! Let's get to the really exciting weather! Did I say exciting? I meant "really boring." Other than a dry cold front or two, the rest of the week looks rather blah with high temps fluctuating from the 40s to 60s back to the 40/50s. And no moisture. Maybe at the end of next weekend? Other than that, the only thing that is interesting in the least is a bit of fire danger tomorrow (greater out west).
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/nws-norman-temps.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/nws-norman-7day-planner.jpg http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20151214/nws-tulsa.png
If you're looking for a white Christmas, I'm still seeing warmer than normal weather. And that's not just for Oklahoma but much of the country. Never fear, it could still change. I hope not. I wrote Santa and asked for 70s on Christmas Day!
Bah humbug yourself!
Gary McManus State Climatologist Oklahoma Mesonet 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
===================================================
|