Ticker for December 1, 2009

                
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December 1, 2009   December 1, 2009   December 1, 2009   December 1, 2009


November Comes Through In The Clutch

Are you like me ... no, wait. I asked that before and got too many "NO!"
answers back. That question is bad for the ol' self esteem. How about this ...
were you as thankful as I was for the deliciously warm November we had after
that horrid mess of an October (coldest on record)? Good for you!

According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average
temperature was 53.1 degrees, 4.8 degrees above the established 1971-2000
normals. Based on monthly normals across the state, November is 13 degrees
cooler than October, easily Oklahoma?s largest temperature difference between
consecutive months (thanks to Howy Johnson for beating this tidbit into my
head, 61.3 degrees in October vs. 48.3 in November). In 2009, however, that
difference shrank to 1.2 degrees.

For emphasis, you want to see a state switch political parties in a month?




Another difference between October and November, besides goblins vs.
gobblers, was the amount of moisture falling from the sky. October was the fifth
wettest on record, but November ended as the 22nd driest. The statewide average
precipitation recorded by the Oklahoma Mesonet for November was 0.63 inches,
2.19 inches below normal.

It wouldn't appear we are going to be as lucky with December, however. The
outlooks are reflecting this upcoming arctic blast superimposed on the typical
El Nino pattern:




Finally, in a blatant attempt to prevent any ice storms this winter, I'm going
to provide the link to the NWS-Tulsa's Sperry-Piltz Ice Accumulation (SPIA)
Index page:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tsa/?n=badice

Remember, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature, but a little bit of reverse
psychology never hurt.

Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
(405) 325-2253