Ticker for January 12, 2023

                
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January 12, 2023   January 12, 2023   January 12, 2023   January 12, 2023


I'm cold Dude!




While shamelessly (you don't know me very well, do you?) stealing this from
"Dude, Where's My Car," I then thought that there are probably lots of you that
don't even know what "Dude, Where's My Car" is? Well, let me enlighten you...it's
one of the greatest movies. Ever released. On December 15, 2000.

However, this is not one of the greatest weather days ever on January 12. I'm sure
there are lots of bad ones, but this ain't one of them. I guess it's not "bad" for
a January 12, but considering we had 60s, 70s and 80s over the last few days,
the abrupt change is certainly less than ideal. At least from my viewpoint, and
as an aspiring Master of All Time and Space (first proclamation...make hair
uncool), that's really all that matters. Some of you probably think if it's gonna
be this cold out, it could at least snow. Heck, it's snowing right now! Up in
NE OK, that is.



It ain't much, but it's better than nothing. Nothing, you say? Well, that not
only describes my scalp and very nearly my IQ, but also what help that paltry
moisture is going to do for the drought situation in the state. It's not even
falling on the hardest hit areas anyway.



After some big improvements in the early part of the last 3 months, those
improvements have really slackened in the face of our current dry spell, going
on just about a month for many, but for others many, MANY months. You can see
those improvements on the 3-month DM change map, mostly across eastern OK. Some
worsening up in the NW.



But over the last month or so? Not much at all.



It's just not gonna happen with these kind of rainfall maps over the last month
or so.









And confirmed by the actual stats from that time frame.



Now you might say to yourself "Well (insert name here), does it really matter if
it's dry in January? I mean, it's dry anyway, and it's also cooler, so not much
evaporation. And the plants are mostly dormant, so they're not using much
moisture either. And I really don't like my name (insert name here). I really
wish I had been named something cool, like Gary."

Well thank you! But here's the deal...it DOES matter. This part of the year,
for the very reasons above, is a great time to replenish soil moisture, add
a bit more to farm ponds and reservoirs, and don't forget there ARE plants still
alive and needing moisture, especially in the face of those really cold spells
where they get stressed. And it also matters because of this.



And this.



Shoot, we can go out farther than that! Remember, this drought started back in
August, not 2022, but 2021! So nearly 17 months ago. Check out these stats.



So in essence, for all in tents and purses (that's what I hear, sorry), the last
17 months have been the 11th driest such period in the last 100 years, at least.
And for many of the regions across the state, that rank falls into the single
digits. And while I don't have the same pretty map to show for that oddball
period, you can see on this rougher map that those deficits over that 17-month
period exceed 20 inches in some areas.



Want to see something crazier?



No! Crazier than that. Check out this rainfall total map for that period.



Forget the pretty colors, much of the state has seen about 8-10 months worth of
rainfall over that 17-month period. Even crazier??

Goodwell has received 8.32 inches of rainfall over that time frame. Now you
tell me what you can grow with 8.32 inches of rain over 17 months??

Not much help showing up just yet. Maybe later next week.



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