Ticker for November 3, 2003

                
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November 3, 2003   November 3, 2003   November 3, 2003   November 3, 2003


Air Masses Wage Colossal Battle in NW Oklahoma

Okay, "colossal" may be stretching it a bit, but cold air and warm air
have been duking it out for control of northwestern Oklahoma during
the last 24 hours. Right now the battle line is draped across the
central panhandle, extending into Kansas:



Notice the contrast in temperatures in Texas County! Hooker is
registering a crisp 54 F with winds out of the north, while 30 miles
away Goodwell is basking in 81 F heat with winds out of the Texas
panhandle.

The Mesonet site on May Ranch in northern Woods County has seen quite
a struggle for superiority today:



Last night, just as the sun was setting, winds broke out of the north
and plunged the temperature from the mid 70s to around 50 F.  Then,
at about 3:30 am, the warm sector fought back and raised temps to the
mid 60s during the overnight hours. The cold air returned shortly after
sunrise to beat temps down in around 60 F before the warm sector fought
back yet again, bringing southerly winds and clearing skies to drive
temps up toward 80 F!

It's like a tennis match up there!

Notably, neighboring stations haven't quite seen the back-and-forth
combat at May Ranch. In fact, the three closest stations to May Ranch
have seen three very different scenarios!

( FYI: 
 )

At the Buffalo station, the cold air took hold yesterday evening and
didn't retreat until early afternoon today:


Freedom remained in the warm sector until sunrise today, when the cold
front made a brief passage and retreated a few hours later:


And at Alva, the cold air never even made it:


A very interesting day, to say the least!