Ticker for May 30, 2023

                
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May 30, 2023       May 30, 2023       May 30, 2023       May 30, 2023


Reversal of Fortune




"Reversal of Fortune" indeed, and we're not talking about the Claus von Bulow
flick, starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close (sans rabbit). No, we're talking
rainfall here, and how western Oklahoma had suddenly become eastern Oklahoma, and
vice-versa. And heck, it's sprinkling right now for crying out loud!



And not that everybody in western Oklahoma has enjoyed the surpluses, and not that
everybody in eastern Oklahoma is suddenly thrust into drought, and not that
writing "and not" is a cheap literary prop, but generally if'n you're in eastern
Oklahoma, you're probably saying "where'd the rain go?"





Even though that 30-day rainfall map is lit up like a Christmas tree, remember,
we're in the wettest part of the year for much of the state (far western OK
and the Panhandle's rainy season comes in the summer), so even 4-5 inch amounts
are below normal for eastern Oklahoma.







And then when you extend that out to the 60- and 90-day periods, those deficits
survive and grow (again because deficits during May can outpace rains of March
and April due to this being prime rainy season).





Ya see, drought is creeping hazard, much like Justin Bieber (sorry kids, I'm
not a Belieber). You don't realize it's happening until impacts start to rear
their ugly head. So if you growing something, say peaches (yes, even in Georgia),
you might be fine for awhile but then you notice "Hmmmm...not doing so well.
Weird, it rained a lot, but wait, that was back in early April, right?"

Even as we look forward into the second week of June, we see this western-favored
precip regime continuing and a ridge-dominated eastern Oklahoma in the less-
favored status (but still not below normal, so there's hope).



No sign of summer, either. Did you know there are still places that haven't seen
90 degrees yet (and if you saw "89 Degrees," you're probably a Belieber now)?
And nobody has seen triple-digits either. None of that's coming anytime soon,
either.







Don't worry, there's always the heat index!

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