Ticker for January 8, 2013

                TICKER UPDATE: 2012 becomes Oklahoma's warmest year statewide, confirmed

NCDC has released their climate division values by state. December's statewide
average for Oklahoma came in at 41.8 degrees, which gives us an average
temperature of 63.0 degrees for the year. That breaks the previous record of
62.8 degrees from 1954, and confirms 2012 as Oklahoma's warmest year on record.
Those records began in 1895.

It also brings the two-year (January 2011-December 2012) statewide average to
62.3 degrees, breaking the previous record for two-consecutive calendar years
of 62.1 degrees from 1953-1954.

These numbers could adjust upwards just a bit over the next couple of months as
data trickles into NCDC (i.e., paper forms).


MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
January 8, 2013    January 8, 2013    January 8, 2013    January 8, 2013


Rain -- Lock and Load!

It looks like a pretty good bet (your money, not mine ... I ain't crazy!) that
much of the state is going to get a good 1-3 inches of rain over the next
couple of days. The Latest 5-day forecast from the HPC shows us some pretty
good colors/numbers.



Now they can't really determine the small-scale variations, but the writing is
on the wall ... errrrr, map. The NWS offices that cover our state are also
showing us the story in pictures.





How badly do we need rain? It's now been 102 days since the Mesonet sites at
Butler, Freedom and Alva have seen at least a quarter-inch of rain in a single
day.



This estimate from the CPC gives us some idea of how much rain we need to get
out of this mess ... about 6-12 inches across the state in the next month would
probably do the trick!



All we need to do now is wait for the rain.

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