Ticker for December 1, 2004

                
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December 1, 2004   December 1, 2004   December 1, 2004   December 1, 2004



November 2004: Gloomiest Month in Eleven Years

If Groundhog Day were held in November (and in Oklahoma) this year,
we'd all be wearing t-shirts and shorts by now.  Shadows were scarce
last month, as the air hung heavy like a dulling wine.

Oklahoma Mesonet data confirms that November 2004 was indeed the
gloomiest month in the network's eleven year history, based on the
fraction of realized solar radiation versus that which the sun
delivered to the top of our atmosphere (TOA).

Thanks to persistent and dense cloud cover, only 35.7% of the TOA
sunlight percolated down to the ground.  This was even less than the
previous Mesonet record of 38.3%, set in the gloaming of October 2002.
Since 1994, the average November realized solar radiation value is
about48%.

The profound dreariness prompted Mesonet personnel to closely track
battery voltage (batteries are recharged by solar energy). Several
batteries were pre-emptively replaced.

Climatologically, November comes as feast or famine in several
respects, as detailed in the Ticker sent one year ago today:

http://ticker.mesonet.org/select.php?mo=12&da=01&yr=2003

The same goes for sunlight!  Five of the ten gloomiest months in
Mesonet history are Novembers, as are two of the brightest.

We close the book on November 2004 with some appropriate verse, penned
in the early 19th Century by Thomas Hood (thanks to Ticker subscriber
Russ Goodwin for passing this along!):

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees
No fruit, no flowers, no leaves,
no birds! -- No-vember!