Ticker for July 29, 2003

                
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July 29, 2003      July 29, 2003      July 29, 2003      July 29, 2003


"Cold" Front Brings Some Relief to Some Oklahomans

The much-anticipated cold front has struggled its way to drape half the
state in cooler air.  Folks in Marshall will gladly take the current
85F over yesterday's 106F.

Some hit-and-miss showers dropped a quarter-inch or so rain on (very)
isolated pieces of the state.  However, the Kenton Mesonet site picked
up about an inch!


Chaos Reigns in Yesterday's Wind Field

Yesterday afternoon, synoptic-scale forcing all but disappeared ahead
of the front.  The state's wind field, lacking any large-scale guidance
or leadership, deteriorated into a disgusting free-for-all of wind
direction. Parcels of air headed this way and that, frolicking in an
unsupervised playground of motion, governed and guided only by
mesoscale whimsy.

The following map is a snapshot of this lightness and variability:



The synoptic scale returned from its day off today and quickly restored
order to most of the state, shepherding the disorderly parcels and
dispensing with their idiotic notions.