Ticker for January 5, 2007

                
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January 5, 2007    January 5, 2007    January 5, 2007    January 5, 2007



We're Back

The Entire Ticker Staff is back from an orange-and-blue desert nightmare
and we're ready to return to the Ticker. Thanks for your patience during
our time off the air, and we vow that we're back and better than -
well, let's just say we're back.


Standout December

December 2006 was extremely wet, in December terms. And, because it came
on the heels of eleven very dry months, it made up a sizable chunk of
this year's rainfall. On average, the month is responsible for less than
5% of the year's precip, but this year, the month brought 10+% of what
2006 had to offer:

Climate      Dec      2006     Dec       Rank     Record (year)
Division     Precip   Precip   Portion   of 112   Portion

Panhandle     3.06"   17.50"   17.5%       1st    16.1% (1913)
N.Central     2.83"   19.85"   14.3%       3rd    18.9% (1913)
Northeast     4.09"   31.78"   12.9%       4th    17.7% (1932)

W.Central     3.32"   23.18"   14.3%       5th    17.4% (1984)
Central       3.21"   27.42"   11.7%       5th    19.1% (1984)
E.Central     4.53"   38.94"   11.6%      13th    17.3% (1932)

Southwest     2.45"   23.78"   10.3%       8th    23.5% (1984)
S.Central     3.81"   31.05"   12.3%      11th    19.4% (1911)
Southeast     4.88"   46.57"   10.5%      23rd    24.1% (1971)


Another barometer (or is it rain gauge?) of December's impact: as of
November 30, 2006, the 11-month statewide total was the 7th driest
of the modern record. One month later, that rank dropped (floated?)
to 15th.