Ticker for September 6, 2016

                
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September 6, 2016  September 6, 2016  September 6, 2016  September 6, 2016


Summer...still here




Summer's still here. Oh, some of you (if not most) are ready for it to go quietly
into the night (or loudly into the fall), but it ain't happening just yet. And
even if it does go away for a bit this week, it will probably make a return visit
or two. But each time it goes away, I USUALLY come back as a shadow of its former
self. Just look at the long-term (2001-2015) statewide average high temperature
from the Oklahoma Mesonet.



Okay, calm down there Calvin and Hobbes. We actually need to go through fall first.
Winter is inevitably after, however (whether you get to sled is always a bit
iffy here in Oklahoma, however). BUT, you can see the dramatic decrease in avg.
high temperatures as we go through September. We start out at 90.1 degrees on
Sept. 1 and end up at 81.1 on Sept. 30 until bottoming out at 49.6 on Dec. 27.
Yes, there's another minima in early February, but we'll worry about that next
year.

Until then, however, summer will stick around for most of this week before a
cool front pops through later this week and brings cooler weather with a chance
of rain.



"Hot and humid conditions will continue through Thursday along with
low thunderstorm chances. A cold front will push through the region
late Friday through early Saturday and bring widespread showers and
thunderstorms along with locally heavy rainfall. Noticeably cooler
temperatures will also follow for next weekend."

I don't think we're talking 60s and 70s here, however. Just back down into the
80s.



So "noticeably cooler" means something different when you've been in the 90s
with heat indexes in the 100s.

I wouldn't say goodbye to summer just yet. Nor hello to sledding and stocking
caps.

All in good time, of course.

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