Ticker for February 16, 2023

                
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February 16, 2023  February 16, 2023  February 16, 2023  February 16, 2023


We're back!




Well what did you expect? And remember, you ARE reading the Ticker, so I suspect
your "expect" is set pretty low, but not every February day can be like yesterday
with highs in the 60s and 70s for most of us, complete with snow and severe
weather.



Well, actually, I guess you can considering last year's version.



Hmmm, very similar to yesterday, except with a bit more snow possible. What about
two years ago?



ARGH! Did we have to go there? I guess you can have just about everything in
mid-February, from record-shattering cold to a severe outbreak day. And fire.
And wind. Looks like we had some close calls with twisters, certainly a lot of
tornado warnings late into the night.



And heavy snows out in the Panhandle, with up to 7 inches being reported near
Kenton. That snowfall shows up pretty well on the latest satellite image. The
stuff to the east is cloudiness.



So to sum up over the last 3 days we've had non-thunderstorm winds of over 80
mph, a dust storm, tornado warning, near-blizzard conditions with over half a
foot of snow, wildfires, an arctic blast...and a really pleasant day? How about
we stick with the pleasantness for awhile? That appears to be where we're headed
for awhile, after we get past our arctic air, that is.







At the very least, we can say everybody has had a drink of water over the last
few weeks. Now it might be just a sip for some, but it was something.







That has led to basically a 1-cat Drought Monitor improvement over the SE half
of the state, generally south and east of I-44.





While 80% of the state is still in at least moderate drought, that's the
lowest percentage in the state since July 19, right when our summer flash
drought was getting particularly nasty. It's a good thing we got what we did,
because things look at bit less moist as we go through the next couple of weeks.





No worries, something will change. It is, after all, February.

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