Ticker for December 21, 2000

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
December 21, 2000  December 21, 2000  December 21, 2000  December 21, 2000


Hello again from the world of ou.edu

Some late night work has restored internet access to and from the Norman
campus.  If you received a Ticker update about five hours ago, it looks
like the wait wasn't as long as originally feared.  If you didn't receive
a Ticker update about five hours ago, it's probably because you're an
ou.edu user and we couldn't reach you from our off-campus Ticker-in-exile
offices.

We will relay any official announcements from OU when we receive them.
We are prepared to use the Ticker-in-exile offices again if needed.


Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch ...

Very strong winds blasted much of Oklahoma Wednesday.  Here are some of
the all-star gusts:

Medicine Park  50 mph  4:45 pm    Medicine Park  48 mph  4:40 pm
Camargo        50 mph  1:50 pm    Medicine Park  47 mph  4:35 pm
Medicine Park  49 mph  5:10 pm    Medicine Park  47 mph  5:15 pm
Minco          49 mph  4:50 pm    Minco          47 mph  5:10 pm
Camargo        48 mph  1:45 pm    Minco          47 mph  4:15 pm
Minco          48 mph  5:05 pm    Camargo        47 mph  1:55 pm
Fairview       48 mph  2:25 pm    Hugo           47 mph  1:45 pm
Minco          48 mph  4:25 pm    Cheyenne       46 mph  3:30 pm


Cold Still Grips Northeast Oklahoma

Northeastern Oklahoma has been a bastion of cold air for nearly ten days
now.  While the rest of the state has been cold, the northeast has been
downright frigid.  Consider some of the region's low temperatures in the
last five days:

Date        Vinita   Nowata    Copan    Pryor      Jay
Dec 16th:      7 F      9 F     12 F     14 F     11 F
Dec 17th:     -3 F     -4 F      2 F      1 F      5 F
Dec 18th:     13 F     14 F     14 F     16 F     13 F
Dec 19th:      2 F      4 F      6 F      7 F      6 F
Dec 20th:      8 F     14 F     14 F     15 F     16 F

Tonight, several stations in the northeast have already dipped into
the mid teens.

During the first 20 days of the month, Vinita racked up an estimated
751 heating degree-days.  Unless things heat up significantly in the
next ten days, this month could produce the largest monthly heating
degree-day accumulation in the history of the Vinita Mesonet station
(1,015 in January 1997).

And that's just a fancy way of saying it looks like December 2000 will
be the coldest month for Vinita and several other stations in the region
since Mesonet records began in 1994.