Ticker for June 20, 2019

                
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June 20, 2019      June 20, 2019      June 20, 2019      June 20, 2019


Summer...yay??




No, we're not going to mention rain, or storms, or flooding, or anything else
today! We're gonna talk...SUMMER! Most of you know the Ticker is famous for its
love of summer, hatred of winter (just kidding, Braum's!!), and disdain of fall
ending early and spring ending late. It's not a perfect world, and we'll admit
that this summer is probably going to be unpleasant, thanks to the aforementioned
thing we mentioned that we weren't going to mention.

We're also not going to be dropping in to see what condition our condition is
in, but that's another story.

Let's get to the meat of the story. We're talking pressure cooked meat, not
fried, which isn't really to our taste. The forecast for today and tomorrow has
triple-digit temperatures showing up on the Mesonet for the first time since
Talihina hit 100 degrees on Sept. 19, 2018.



Now some of us have experienced summer already. Just yesterday the heat index
rose to uncomfortable heights across southern Oklahoma. And for the record
(that's sort of our job), the heat index has reached at least 100 degrees a
total of 21 times on the Mesonet's 120 sites for the year thus far, topping out
at 103 degrees on June 15 at Altus, Grandfield and Tipton, and again at Hugo
yesterday.



I fear there is more of this to come. With all the moisture (NOTICE WE DIDN'T
SAY RAIN! Ah, rats.) we've had thus far, and the inevitable bulk of summer to
come...well, "steamy" just isn't a strong enough word for some of the upcoming
nastiness. Any Okie worth his salt knows that the dewpoints normally shoot up
in June and stay that way until mid-August.



Giving a heat index profile that turns July into a peak you DON'T want to climb.



So here's our mea culpa. You can give your own youra culpa later. The Ticker
likes DRY heat. We like that blast furnace heat that turns into pleasantly warm
sunsets that are just enough to keep you comfortable as you step out of the
pool. Or a pond. The pond is probably good for you. Or you can walk outside at
8:30 at night and not immediately start making your own gravy.

I don't think we're going to see much of that this summer. So save us a spot
in the "we're ready for fall" contingent. We might be joining you shortly.

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