Ticker for May 17, 2022

                
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May 17, 2022       May 17, 2022       May 17, 2022       May 17, 2022


It's baaaack!




Did ya enjoy the day of spring? Well, at least for the western half of the state,
it was pretty short-lived...again. The heat comes back with the heat dome, and
it's not gonna be pretty. We will once again approach record highs across
western parts of the state. It seems kind of odd to look at highs out there
approaching 105 and think, well that isn't really all that hot for Oklahoma, but
then we have to remember we're still in mid-May! The highest temperature ever
recorded on a May 17 in Oklahoma was 107 back in Beaver and Buffalo in 1996. And
while those two mammals might have enjoyed that heat, I'm betting the towns didn't;
1996 isn't a year you want to be hanging out with, anyway. That was another terrible
year for drought AND heat. You can see most of the records for today's heat were
from 1996.



The heat abates (and we all know how painful that can be) on Friday with the
arrival of a pretty darned strong cold front, but not before roasting us for a few
more days.







And then we end up with a nice throwback Saturday. It's a bit cool for my taste, but
I won't throw it back so some of you folks can get a break.



Yeah, to heck with that. That's too cold. Throw it back!



Well, be careful what I ask for, right? Well, it IS Oklahoma. Speaking of sports
(work with me, here), they're playing a little golf match over in Tulsa this week,
and it would appear the elements are going to play havoc with the gofers. What? If
we kill all the...oh never mind. They're gonna get the same havoc-causing weather
the rest of us are looking at: big heat through Thursday, the cold front and a chance
of rain on Friday, then settling into some cool weather Saturday and Sunday. Not
bigtime rains, at least, however, those would be handy in other parts of the state.
Southwest OK agrees.



Gary McManus
State Climatologist
Oklahoma Mesonet
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
gmcmanus@mesonet.org