Ticker for December 22, 2000

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
December 22, 2000  December 22, 2000  December 22, 2000  December 22, 2000


Goodbye, 2000 A.D.

A look back on the statistics from the year 2000 will show a warm and
slightly wet year for our state.  Of course, hidden in all of that
climatology are the extremely warm February, the floods of spring,
the intense 90-day summer drought, the sharp cold of November and
December, and last week's costly ice storm.  That's the way climatology
works, though.

More complete details will be available early next year.


Reflection

At the close of December, the Oklahoma Mesonet and ARS Micronet will
have completed their seventh full year of operation.  During that time,
the two networks will have archived 1.71 billion out of 1.74 billion
possible observations.  With the incorporation of the OASIS project,
the network now operates 3300 active sensors at more than 250 locations
across Oklahoma.  Each day, about 1.25 million environmental
observations are collected and processed, ranging from two-and-a-half
feet below ground (75 cm soil moisture) to more than 32 feet above
ground (10 m winds).

What began just more than ten years ago as a shared vision between
researchers in Stillwater and Norman has grown into a world leader
in its field.  In recent months, scientists from every populated
continent visited Oklahoma to learn about the operation (and, more
importantly, the cooperation) behind Mesonet data.  The installation
of the world's only permanent mesoscale soil moisture network has
amplified the international interest in Oklahoma's scientific
investment.

Congratulations to all involved on seven years of world-class
leadership.


Just Plain Old Outright Sappiness

This will be the final Ticker of the year.  Thanks for your questions,
corrections, explanations and correspondence.  I truly enjoy this, and
will be back without a drought (<-- that's a bad pun and an honest wish)
next year.

Happy Holidays.  May the New Year bring its best to you.

Deke