Ticker for September 26, 2001

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
September 26, 2001 September 26, 2001 September 26, 2001 September 26, 2001


Royal Meteorology

It's late September, and that means we're experiencing the southward
migration of the Monarch butterfly through Oklahoma.  The Ticker staff,
perched in the twelfth floor of the Ticker Building, have been watching
these beautiful creatures sail past our windows for a couple of days
now.  And today, they're plentiful on the streets and in yards and
fields and trees throughout our state.

What's this got to do with meteorology?  Well, the Monarch butterfly,
weighing in at a gram or so, doesn't exactly have a huge fuel reserve.
So, they're opportunists.  When the winds are northerly (and not too
strong), they glide along the current of air toward their destination
in Mexico.  When winds are southerly, like today, the butterflies drop
to the surface to eat and do other important butterfly things.  That's
why they're showing up near the ground today, instead of sailing past
the upper windows of the Ticker Building!