Ticker for July 6, 2020

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
July 6, 2020       July 6, 2020       July 6, 2020       July 6, 2020


That's what summer said




Thank goodness we (as in, not where I live, but where some of you live, which is
not exactly where I live but maybe close to where I live, but only I live where
I live) got all that rain over the weekend, because we're gonna need it.



Now the summer-half-heatstroke side of me says that a lot of that rain is going
to make us miserable when the heat arrives again, evaporated into the air to make
the heat index soar. But the rain was necessary as a drought stopper if not
drought reliever. And that's all we're gonna get for awhile, at least as far as
significant precip goes.



Some of us will have a chance of isolated showers for the next few days, but the
big weather driver will be the dreaded summer heat dome, aka the death ridge,
moving back over the center US. That means heat takes center stage, and that
can be dangerous when you're getting into the middle of July. And it might
actually last awhile, along with the disappearing precipitation.





For this week, however, the point is the heat is on, and it will be in the
extreme category. Much like what I see in the mirror, it ain't gonna be pretty.







The ACTUAL air temperature will be more oppressive looking in the west, but
keep in mind when you see these numbers, the APPARENT air temperature in the
east will be just as nasty, if not more so.





So for the drought, it might just be the old "one step forward, two steps back,"
but we got lucky with the rain because it would have definitely been 10 steps
back without it.

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