Ticker for December 6, 2005

                
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December 6, 2005   December 6, 2005   December 6, 2005   December 6, 2005



Windy November

Today's TIcker comes straight from OCS's Mark Shafer

If you found yourself hanging on to your hat more than you usually
remember during November, it wasn?t just your imagination. November
2005 was indeed much windier than is typical for this time of year.
Statewide, the average wind speed of 8.8 miles per hour was the
highest recorded since at least 1994, when the Oklahoma Mesonet
began giving us enough wind data to make comparisons.

November winds average 7.9 mph. The previous record-holder was 2003,
when the winds averaged 8.7 mph. The ?calmest? November since 1994
was in 2000, when the statewide-averaged winds blew at only 6.8 miles
per hour.

Northeast and west central Oklahoma also had their windiest November
on record. Northeast Oklahoma?s 7.9 mph eclipsed 1995?s 7.6 mph and
west central Oklahoma came in with a whopping 12.1 mph, barely
nipping the 12.0 mph, also from 1995.

Despite a windy November, the year overall has actually been below
average. The statewide-average 7.6 mph wind for January through
November 2005 was below the 7.9 mph average, and well off the record
mark of 8.4 mph set in 1996. Every region of the state, except south
central Oklahoma, has been at or below normal for the year so far.

Although day-to-day winds may not have set many records, it has been
a windy year as far as widespread wind events go. Statewide, there
has been an increase of about 20 percent in the number of wind reports
of 50 mph or greater. In November, wind reports of 50 mph were more
than 8 times the average. So even though the wind didn?t blow hard
on every day, when it got going it certainly drew our attention.