Ticker for April 30, 2003

                
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April 30, 2003     April 30, 2003     April 30, 2003     April 30, 2003


Associate State Climatologist Howard Johnson Retires

Today is Howard Johnson's last day at OCS.  Or, put a better way:
May 1st marks the first day of Howard Johnson's retirement.

Howy has served the state at OCS for more than 21 years and carries
one of Oklahoma's richest climate libraries between his ears.  His
flair for history and humor have left an indelible mark on the entire
Ticker staff.

The Ticker wishes Howy the very best in his retirement.


April 2003 Weather in Review for Oklahoma

OCS climatologist Gary McManus customarily releases an Oklahoma
monthly weather review on the last day of the month.  Here's his
April issue.  We'll carry his review every month from now on.

Oklahoma's severe weather season perked up somewhat during April,
while the state's precipitation deficit continued to increase.  The
National Weather Service's preliminary tornado count for April stands
at nine.  Although that figure falls below the 10 tornadoes that
April normally sees, it remains the most tornadoes the state has seen
since October 2001, when 19 twisters touched down.  Along with four
tornadoes from March, the state's preliminary total of 13 for the
year thus far falls only five short of the 18 experienced during
all of 2002.

The increased severe weather activity did not ease the state's
burgeoning rainfall deficit, however.  According to data from the
Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide-averaged rainfall for the month was
1.84 inches, 1.48 inches below normal and ranked as the 16th driest
April since record-keeping began in 1892.  South central Oklahoma
received less than an inch of rain on average, a scant 27 percent
of the region's normal precipitation for the month.  Southeastern
regions fared little better - at 1.64 inches, they received on average
38 percent of normal precipitation.  The only sections of the state
that received near or above normal precipitation were west central
and north central Oklahoma, with 2.51 inches and 2.63 inches,
respectively.

The lack of appreciable April rainfall only exacerbated the dry
conditions already in place. Combined with deficits from January and
March, 2003's statewide-average of 5.38 inches through April dipped
4.23 inches below normal, making it the 12th driest January-April
period on record. Over the last 30 years, only 1996 was drier with
5.09 inches.  The driest such period occurred during the Dust Bowl
year of 1936, when the parched earth saw a paltry 2.35 inches of
precipitation.   Southeastern and south central Oklahoma have been
hardest hit during 2003, with deficits of 7.81 and 6.71 inches,
respectively, for the year.  Statewide, little more than one-half
of normal precipitation has fallen since the beginning of the year.

The dry conditions have had seemingly little effect on the state's
winter wheat crop, where timing of precipitation is often more
important than quantity.  Officials at the Oklahoma Agricultural
Statistics Service report that 90 percent of the state's wheat is
in fair to excellent condition, with only 10 percent rated as poor.
At this time last year, in the midst of drought conditions, the
state's wheat crop was rated as 37 percent poor, with only 63
percent in the fair to excellent category.  The conditions have
deteriorated enough for the National Drought Mitigation Center to
place all but north central Oklahoma in the "abnormally dry"
category, one level below moderate drought.

Other than a bitter cold snap in the month's second week, April
temperatures remained quite seasonable.  The statewide-averaged
temperature for the month of 60.3 degrees Fahrenheit is 0.5 degrees
above normal.  A strong cold front on the 7th dropped temperatures
significantly below normal and brought a freeze to the entire state,
interrupting pleasant weather of the first week.  The coldest
temperature of the month, 19 degrees, occurred at Seiling on the 9th.
The last freezing temperature of the month, and possibly of the season,
was recorded at the Boise City Mesonet station on the 21st, when the
temperature dipped down briefly to 32 degrees.  Hooker reached 97
degrees on the 14th for the state's warmest temperature of the month.
This temperature also was the highest recorded by the Oklahoma Mesonet
since Mangum reached 104 degrees on September 18th, 2002.

The 15th was the most active day for severe weather.  On that day,
severe storms across western Oklahoma spawned seven possible tornadoes,
damaging businesses and homes in Beckham, Jackson, Roger Mills, and
Washita counties.  The Sweetwater school and its Superintendent's
residence suffered damage from one of the twisters.  The month's only
significant tornado, rated F2 on the Fujita Scale, tracked 20 miles
through Osage, Washington, and Nowata counties before moving into Kansas.
The town of Dewey was the hardest struck, with damage to 40 homes,
two businesses destroyed, and with estimates of over $1.5 million in
damage.

Precipitation Totals
January 1, 2003 through April 30, 2003

Total      Departure     Percentage
Region        Rainfall   from Normal   of Normal

Panhandle     2.75 in     -1.82 in      60 %
North Central 5.91 in     -1.78 in      77 %
Northeast     7.82 in     -3.27 in      71 %

West Central  3.89 in     -3.04 in      56 %
Central       5.52 in     -4.37 in      56 %
East Central  7.38 in     -5.45 in      58 %

Southwest     3.43 in     -3.80 in      47 %
South Central 4.51 in     -6.79 in      40 %
Southeast     6.96 in     -7.81 in      47 %

Statewide     5.38 in     -4.19 in      56 %