Ticker for July 14, 2010

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
July 14, 2010      July 14, 2010      July 14, 2010      July 14, 2010


Dangerous Heat Wave Occurring in Oklahoma

A very dangerous weather situation has set up across the state, as exemplified
by yesterday's Oklahoma Mesonet Maximum Heat Index map:



It's generally a good rule of thumb that if you see purple on a weather map,
something bad is happening. And those purple hues are already showing up on
today's map:



I know this term is usually reserved for tornadoes, but his is a particularly
dangerous situation, folks. When you have heat indices up to 115 degrees, people
that aren't looked after die ... especially those that are most at risk, such as
the elderly and the young. Some statistics show that heat waves kill more
people per year than any other weather hazard:



This is every bit as dangerous to the health and safety of our citizens as any
tornado outbreak. The NWS offices in Norman and Tulsa both have put up or
linked to pages warning of the dangers of this heat wave and included
information on how to stay safe:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oun&storyid=53188&source=0
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/heat/

Animals are in the same danger as humans due to heat, so great care must be
taken to care for pets and livestock. Our Agweather website has some great
decision-making tools with the agricultural producer in mind, such as the Cattle
Stress Advisor:

http://agweather.mesonet.org/models/cattle/current.html

You can find the main site for our Agweather livestock decision-making tools
here:

http://agweather.mesonet.org/index.php/data/section/livestock

This type of hazard is where being a good neighbor is key. If you know of
somebody in the vulnerable population, go check on them. Deaths from this
hazard are almost entirely preventable.

Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
(405) 325-2253
gmcmanus@mesonet.org