Ticker for August 20, 2001

                
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August 20, 2001    August 20, 2001    August 20, 2001    August 20, 2001



From the "You Didn't Need to Tell Me" Dept.

This year's June-July average temperatures and total precipitation
were remarkably hot and dry.  In fact, the June-July period was the
driest such period on record for the the southwest climate division,
and 2nd driest in the west-central and north-central divisions.
In 2001, the north-central, west-central and southwest divisions
recorded their 12th, 10th and 8th warmest June-July periods on
record, respectively.

This is the second extreme two-month period in less than a year,
as all three of these divisions recorded their driest or second-driest
August-September periods last year.

Although localized areas have received significant rainfall relief
in the last three weeks, as much as a third of Oklahoma has observed
less than one inch of rainfall in the last 30 days or less than two
inches in the last 60 days.  The hardest hit areas appear to be
mainly in southwest Oklahoma and along Oklahoma's "Wheat Belt"
corridor, stretching from (roughly) Lawton to Watonga to Enid to
Blackwell.

During summer in Oklahoma, it is common for rain to fall in isolated
patterns (the old "rained on my neighbor but not on me" syndrome),
but portions of Oklahoma are suffering a lack of summer precipitation
for the third of four summers - deficits that are bordering on
historical.  More on that tomorrow.