Ticker for February 10, 2020

                
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February 10, 2020  February 10, 2020  February 10, 2020  February 10, 2020


It could be worse






Sorry (not really) for the late Ticker, but I heard somebody having a pity party
over the weather forecast for the next few days. Okay, I heard that pity party
in my head, and I was that somebody. Hey, nobody else will listen to me! Before
I feel too bad about the cold rain and snow we're about to be stuck with over the
next several days, it's probably a good idea to remember what we were dealing with
on this date 9 years ago...Feb. 10, 2011. The Oklahoma Mesonet site at Nowata
broke the all-time record for lowest temperature ever recorded in the state at
minus 31 degrees. And lots of other stations broke their own individual records,
and got close to the state record. And while this is harder to quantify, the wind
chill value of minus 47 degrees at Medford is "probably" the lowest value ever
calculated for Oklahoma, but it certainly was for the Mesonet.

And let's not forget that the 24-hour snowfall record was also broken the day
before with 27 inches being reported at Spavinaw.

AND, the temperature started rebounding later that week, and didn't stop until
next September after Oklahoma recorded the hottest summer (June-August) of
any state on record. It was so crazy, Nowata and many other stations
experienced a swing of greater than 100 degrees within 7 days.



Here are the triple-digit temperature differences between the highs of February
17 and the lows of February 10, 2011:

Site             TMAX   TMIN   SWING
Nowata	          79	-31	110
Medford	          82	-27	109
Blackwell	  81	-27	108
Marshall	  81	-25	106
Cherokee	  81	-24	105
Red Rock	  81	-23	104
Breckinridge	  80	-23	103
Oilton	          81	-21	102
Pawnee	          82	-20	102
Pryor	          74	-28	102
Burbank	          80	-21	101
Vinita	          77	-24	101
Stillwater	  81	-19	100
Camargo	          84	-16	100
Seilling	  82	-18	100
Bixby	          78	-22	100

So nine years later, we're expected 4-6 inches of snow in the Panhandle, a
cold rain to the east, and highs struggling to get to 40 degrees through
Thursday. How horrible! Or maybe not?

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