Ticker for January 4, 2002

                
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January 4, 2002    January 4, 2002    January 4, 2002    January 4, 2002



58-Degree Spread at Kenton!

The Mesonet site near Kenton in the western panhandle observed a low
temperature of -8 F yesterday, the coolest in the state.  That's what
dry air, clear skies and light winds can do.  The same site observed
a high temperature of 50 F yesterday, the warmest in the state.  Again,
that's what dry air, clear skies and light winds can do.

Here are two maps which display yesterday's climatological statistics
(these are available every day on the Mesonet subscriber pages):




According to the rainfall map, Kenton also observed the most rainfall
yesterday ... wait a minute, what was all this "clear skies" talk?
Well, skies were clear, and Kenton made it above freezing for the first
time in about five days.  The 0.13" of "precip" observed was actually
melt from last week's snowfall!

Incidentally, the 58-degree spread at Kenton ranks was the third-largest
observed at the site in eight years of operation.  It was the network's
19th-largest spread, out of about 325,000 possible station-days.

We've listed the Mesonet's top temperature spreads below.  Most of these
are associated with a strong cold front's passage or a spring heatburst
event.  Notice that northwestern Oklahoma, where the state's driest air
typically resides, dominates the list.


all temps in degrees Fahrenheit

Date        Station     Spread    Tmax    Tmin
----------  ----------  ------    -----   -----
1994-03-19  Kenton        66.3     85.4    19.1
1997-03-20  Foraker       65.6    100.5    34.9
1999-10-29  Putnam        60.8     78.0    17.3
1996-12-27  Mangum        60.1     77.1    17.0
1996-01-17  Slapout       60.0     69.4     9.3
1996-12-27  Altus         59.5     77.5    18.0
1996-01-17  Beaver        59.3     69.4    10.1
1996-12-27  Hollis        59.2     77.7    18.5
1994-02-08  Boise City    59.0     65.9     6.9
1999-10-29  May Ranch     58.5     75.8    17.3
1996-04-24  Hollis        58.2    102.2    44.0
1995-10-22  Buffalo       58.2     93.3    35.2
1996-12-27  Arnett        57.9     75.6    17.7
1996-12-27  Erick         57.8     76.1    18.3
1996-01-17  Goodwell      57.8     67.6     9.8
1994-02-08  Goodwell      57.7     67.5     9.8
1994-02-08  Kenton        57.6     65.5     7.9
1996-02-22  Oilton        57.5     95.1    37.7
2002-01-03  Kenton        57.4     49.8    -7.6