Ticker for October 17, 2012

                
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October 17, 2012   October 17, 2012   October 17, 2012   October 17, 2012


We got Don today

Oklahoma's weather is famously fickle, often going from a beautiful day
(yesterday) to a not-so-beautiful one (today). All it took was the passage of a
dry cold front. I like to call this fickleness "Swayze weather."

Some days you get Patrick:



But other days, you get his brother Don:



Okay, that's a bit unfair. Both are fine looking fellows, I guess. But come on,
I did say "not-so-beautiful."

Yesterday's weather was tremendous (if you don't need rain) with temperatures
5-10 degrees above normal for mid-October and a decent breeze to keep it from
being hot. Today's cold front, however, has turned the heat dial down and the
wind dial up.







It's not like it's cold or anything (that comes overnight):



But combine those winds of 35-50 mph and the dry conditions and you get extreme
fire danger, a Don Swayze day indeed.




The worst fire danger is in the area hit hardest by drought, which is more than
coincidence. From the NWS-Norman Red Flag Fire Danger warning:

"A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION...USHERING
IN STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS AND VERY DRY AIR. ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES
WILL BE COOLER THAN PREVIOUS DAYS...THE WINDY AND VERY DRY
CONDITIONS COMBINED WITH AREAS OF EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT AND DRY
VEGETATION WILL CREATE VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER."

That fire danger will stay elevated for awhile as well, although not quite as
bad as today:



So we're going to have a couple of days of Don, but then we'll back to Patrick
over the weekend.

For those that actually like Don weather, here's a bone for ya: Don is actually
the better actor than his late brother was, if that helps. But then again, Don
never helped a ragtag bunch of high school kids battle invading forces, either.

Yes, I need to read more. Are there are any "Road House" books out there?

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