Ticker for October 4, 2010

                
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BRRRRRRRR!!! (Part 2)

Word comes today from the National Weather Service office in Norman that
Oklahoma City set a record low this morning of 37 degrees. that breaks the old
record of 40 degrees which was set in 1891. Now that year is probably more
famous for John Heath's goal for the Wolverhampton Wanderers soccer team, since
it was the first penalty kick awarded in a soccer match. Unfortunately, I have
no idea of what the temperature was at the time.

While 37 degrees is cold, actual below-freezing temperatures have started to
show up on the Oklahoma Mesonet. Oilton reached a low of 31 degrees Sunday
morning and this morning five Mesonet sites fell below freezing:



1 - Oilton  	                29F
2 - Lake Carl Blackwell 	31F
3 - Breckinridge 	        32F
4 - Bristow 	                32F
5 - Wister 	                32F

So Oilton is leading the freeze brigade, but I have to once again mention it's
one of those lucky stations that under the right circumstances will see its
temperatures plummet a bit more than the surrounding stations. Regardless, it
is still a very valid temperature measurement and Sunday's low of 31 degrees
goes in the books as the first freezing temperature as measured by the
Oklahoma Mesonet of the 2010-11 cool season.

For those wondering, like John Heath of the Wolverhampton Wanderers, this
weekend's first freeze date was well off the record first freeze date in the
state: September 15 at Freedom (28 degrees in 1993), Hammon (30 degrees in 1993)
and Kenton (31 degrees in 1947).

We're still waiting for our first hard freeze (28 degrees or less), and we are
quickly approaching the date for our average first freeze of Autumn for parts
of northwestern Oklahoma.



Notice we are still a bit early for Oklahoma City's average first freeze date
of November 5, and still behind the record first freeze date of October 7.

** EDITORIAL COMMENT: With any luck, the first freeze will occur closer to
December 8, the latest freeze on record for Oklahoma City. Allergy sufferers,
let that hate mail fly!

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