Ticker for December 9, 2009

                
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December 9, 2009   December 9, 2009   December 9, 2009   December 9, 2009


Wild Wild West(ern Panhandle)

Yes, the Ticker Staff never stops. Don't think Energizer Bunny, however. Go with
the off-brand battery Sloth. And Kudos to Oklahoman columnist Bryan Painter
for alerting us to the wild Panhandle weather today.

If you found yourself in the western Panhandle today, well ... consider yourself
lucky. No, seriously. If you slam a shovel into the bare earth and it doesn't pop
back up and take a few of your teeth, you're not far enough west. The plateaus
of the High Plains in our western Panhandle can have wild temperature swings
when cold air is about due to several factors. The elevation (4000-5000 feet)can
often help diminish the duration of some cold air outbreaks as the more shallow
air masses ooze about. Another player is the propensity of the area to
experience westerly down-sloping winds. Compressional heating can be a wondrous
present after a cold winter morning. And don't forget those lovely lee troughs
and their southerly winds.

At any rate, check out the meteograms from the Mesonet stations at Kenton,
Boise City and Goodwell from today and come up with a theory:





I like Goodwell's. Temperatures steady for most of the day in the 20s with
southeasterly winds. Eventually winds swing around to the west and the
temperature soars (hey, work with me ... it's winter!) to around 45 degrees.
Shortly therafter, the temperature plummets to the lower teens and wind
chills drop to near 10 degrees below zero.

I may be crazy, but 20 degrees to 45 degrees to 10 degrees in an afternoon
isn't just fun, it's GRAND fun!

By the way, I love Goodwell's last stand about 2:50 p.m. today:



And if I have to show you where Goodwell is, shame on you!

Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist and former Panhandle resident
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
(405) 325-2253