Ticker for September 14, 2012

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
September 14, 2012 September 14, 2012 September 14, 2012 September 14, 2012


It's a clinkerrrrrr!!!

Okay, I won't be weaving a tapestry of obscenities that will hang in space over
Lake Thunderbird (71% of capacity), since some folks did receive some nice rains.

But ... it wasn't nearly what I expected (remember the forecast from yesterday
morning):



The 2-4 inches of rain from north central down through the body of the state
got close in some areas, but most folks got an inch or less. At least those areas
with an inch or so were widespread.



Southeastern Oklahoma was mostly left out, as was southwestern Oklahoma. The far
northeast had some great rains of up to 3 inches, at least according to the
radar estimates. The far western Panhandle missed out once again, too little to
quench their thirst.

More rain is possible (heck, it's raining now in some areas!), especially in
eastern Oklahoma. It appears (haha!) that southeastern Oklahoma will get a good
dose in the next few days. But I'm afraid the big stuff is over in the north
and west, and that's the part of the state that needed a lot more. I guess I
should quit being a rain gauge half-full kind of a guy. This rain will definitely
help in several areas. The moisture will kick down fire danger for awhile, and
allow folks to work ground with hopes of enough soil moisture to establish their
crops until the next rains arrive.

One thing we did see was the cooler weather. The Kenton Mesonet site dropped to
39 degrees last night. Not quite a record for out there (36 degrees back in
1945), but it was darned close. That's not just cold, it's frigid considering
we're halfway into September! That's also the lowest temperature we've seen on
the Mesonet since May 28 when Kenton hit that same low reading.



Let's be thankful for what we got. Sure seems like our big chances end up being
about half of what we expected, though.

It's almost like asking for a BB gun for Christmas and getting a football
instead.

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