Ticker for February 7, 2011

                
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February 7, 2011   February 7, 2011   February 7, 2011   February 7, 2011


Yes Virginia, there was a January

It's been so boring weather-wise around here this last week or so it totally
escaped me to provide you with a January summary, so here goes:

1. It was cold.
2. It was dry.

Okay okay,the month was more exciting than that! To wit:

3. It was windy.

For a more sane and detailed summary of the month, keep scrolling. But not before
reading more about cold weather.

As it turns out, February 2, 2011, was the coldest day in Mesonet history based
on the statewide-averaged mean temperature. The Mesonet temperature records date
back to March 1997. Here are the top-10(11) coldest such days in Mesonet
history:

1.  9.7 degrees     2/2/2011
2. 11.0 degrees     2/3/2011
3. 13.7 degrees     1/8/2010
4. 14.3 degrees     2/24/2003
5. 14.4 degrees     12/221998
6. 14.7 degrees     12/8/2005
7. 15.4 degrees     2/1/2011
8. 15.5 degrees     1/9/2010
9. 15.7 degrees     12/12/2000
10. 16.6 degrees    1/6/2004
10. 16.6 degrees    2/15/2007

Three of the top 10 came with this month's arctic blast, and 5 of the top 10
came in 2010 and 2011. Now if we widen our field again to include statewide-
averaged NWS COOP data, which for our purposes date back to about 1915, we see
that last week's cold snap still ranks as one of the top-30 coldest in state
history. COOP records pre-date 1915, but it is difficult to establish a
statewide average until more stations came along, hence the 1915 start date.

Here are the top 10 from the COOP network. As you can see, Decembers of 1989
and 1983 dominate the records:

1. 1.8 degrees     12/22/1989
2. 2.8 degrees     12/23/1989
3. 3.4 degrees     12/22/1983
4. 4.6 degrees     12/24/1983
5. 4.9 degrees     12/25/1983
6. 5.0 degrees     1/4/1947
7. 5.1 degrees     1/17/1930
8. 5.7 degrees     1/12/1918
9. 5.8 degrees     1/4/1959
9. 5.8 degrees     12/23/1983

Now, for the promised January summary:

********************************************************************************

The month was dry and cold, as Januaries are prone to be in Oklahoma, and its
historical rankings reflect those traits. Drought conditions continued to
spread thanks to a statewide average precipitation total of less than a quarter
of an inch. That amounts to a deficit of more than an inch for the month and
the sixth driest January on record since 1895. The statewide average temperature
fell 1.3 degrees below normal to rank as the 33rd coldest January on record.
Very little snow fell, although a couple of storms provided decent amounts for
a few areas. Broken Bow and Ponca City both reported 5 inches of snow for the
month. Very little in the way of traditional severe weather occurred, although
high winds and low relative humidity combined at times to produce wildfires,
especially late in the month when conditions were warmer.

Precipitation
The stingy skies during January continued a problem seen since early fall, and
the December-January period looked equally bleak with a deficit of over 2
inches, the fifth driest such period on record. Northeastern- through central-
Oklahoma were particularly dry over those two months, ranked as the second- and
third-driest on record for those areas, respectively. The Mesonet station at
Broken Bow led the state?s precipitation totals with 1.47 inches for January.
Many, many stations were relatively dry for the entire month, although Tipton
won the actual prize with a total of 0.02 inches.

Temperature
The lack of moisture during the month did not come with a similar lack of cold
air. Several powerful cold fronts kept the state in an arctic deep freeze,
interspersed with a few days of spring-like warmth. The highest temperature
recorded by the Mesonet was 78 degrees at both Fairview and Butler on the 28th
and Oilton on the 29th. Oklahoma City and Tulsa set tied record highs on the
29th with 76 degrees and McAlester did the same with 74 degrees that same day.
The month?s low temperature of -8 degrees occurred at Hooker on the eighth.

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