Ticker for May 6, 2014

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
May 6, 2014        May 6, 2014        May 6, 2014        May 6, 2014


Okay, now she's just messing with us!



Oh, we'll get to the weather in a minute, but seriously ... an earthquake
"warning?" What the heck am I supposed to do with that? You have probably heard
this already, but the USGS and Oklahoma Geological Survey came out yesterday with
a joint statement/warning saying the chances of a damaging magnitude 5.5 quake
is more likely across central Oklahoma thanks to the swarm of earthquakes we've
had the last few months and years. Here is the statement on the USGS website so
you can read the news for yourself.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/ceus/products/newsrelease_05022014.php

This is my favorite quote on the matter, from Robert Williams, a research
geophysicist with USGS, and it proves everybody is a meteorologist at heart.

"We don't know if this earthquake rate is going to continue," Williams
said. "It could go to a higher rate or lower, so the increased chances
of a damaging quake could change in the future."

That about sums up what I know about earthquakes as well. Whole lotta shaking
going on.

Like I said in the title, now Mother Nature is just messing with us.
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Weather? Well, what more needs to be said. We have record temperatures (see if
your area broke their record)







extremely low relative humidity values (these will go down dramatically across
the state as the air warms up and the wind kicks up)



and strong winds (again, these will increase dramatically throughout the day)





creating critical fire danger hazards for the next few days, especially today.
I'll let the NWS offices do the talking for a bit now.







Things are bad enough that half the High Plains and points east are under a
Red Flag Fire Warning (hint: look for the red...glad to help).



A Red Flag Warning is rather complicated, so let me explain it to you:

DON'T BURN ANYTHING, DON'T THROW CIGARETTE BUTTS OUT THE WINDOW, DON'T DRAG A
CHAIN BEHIND YOUR CAR!

In fact, don't even breathe or blink your eyeballs. The friction from either
could start a fire. Just sit motionless somewhere in an asbestos suit. Again,
glad to help.

And last but certainly not least, to put the kibosh on ANYBODY trying to burn
anything today, the Governor not only issued a burn ban across much of the
state



she also declared a state of emergency over the entire state due to the recent
wildfire activity

https://content.mesonet.org/ticker/archive/20140506/state-of-emergency.pdf

The burn ban is pretty simple: see Red Flag Warning rules above.

Okay, now onto some better news. It does look like it will rain somewhere in
the state over the next few days. There will be a chance for storms and severe
weather, but more importantly, moisture.



I hope that can shift to the west. I really do, because that is not good for
western Oklahoma. But it's great for the eastern half or two-thirds of the
state. At least it will allow for a bit more green-up and tamp down on that
fire danger a little bit. Extend that out a few days and there will be
additional rain chances, supposedly. We always see some darker greens out west
on these 7-day forecasts. They don't ever occur, but they're nice to look at.



So there you have it. Don't burn anything or I'll sic Tom Joad on ya. As for
your friendly neighborhood State Climatologist, I'll be coming to you from
Cimarron County for the next two days chasing drought and Dust Bowl memories
with a reporter. You're welcome to join us ... here's the forecast.



Dust Bowl indeed!

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