Ticker for May 11, 1999

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
May 11, 1999       May 11, 1999       May 11, 1999       May 11, 1999


Yet Another Amazing Look at Last Summer's Drought

This has been done recently, but it's worth another look.  The
following table compares rainfall from the six-month period at the
heart of last summer's drought to rainfall from a six-week period
this year.  Both of the periods begin on April 1st, but that's about
all they have in common.  A total of *nine* Mesonet stations (see note
about Hollis) have already exceeded last summer's warm season rain in
less than one-fourth of the number of days.  Several more are on the
verge of doing the same.


(all totals in inches)

Apr 1-Sep 30   Apr 1-May 10
Mesonet        1998           1999
Station     (183 days)     (40 days)      Comparison

Retrop         5.55           7.45          +1.90
Bessie         6.48           7.99          +1.51
Fort Cobb      4.82           6.13          +1.31
Camargo        8.47           9.43          +0.96
Mangum         3.62           4.27          +0.65
Hinton         5.96           6.25          +0.29
Minco          8.46           8.68          +0.22
Hobart         5.24           5.30          +0.06
Altus          4.00           3.77          -0.23
Chickasha      8.17           7.94          -0.23
Woodward       9.30           9.02          -0.28
Durant         7.55           7.01          -0.54
Ardmore        7.05           6.33          -0.72
Acme           8.58           7.71          -0.86
Stuart        11.64          10.46          -1.18
Erick          7.64           6.47          -1.18
Apache         8.38           7.09          -1.29
Ninnekah       9.15           7.85          -1.30
El Reno        8.60           7.22          -1.38
Putnam         6.91           5.41          -1.50
Walters        6.64           5.02          -1.62
Arnett         7.81           5.92          -1.89
Calvin        11.74           9.77          -1.96

note: Hollis has almost definitely exceeded its rainfall total
from Apr-Sep 1998, but some rainfall data from the 1998 period is
in question, so precise numbers are not available