Ticker for July 19, 2023

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
July 19, 2023      July 19, 2023      July 19, 2023      July 19, 2023


The Fry of Mordor




I could have said "FRY, YOU FOOLS!" but not everybody has an encyclopedic knowledge
of "The Lord of the Rings." I know, there are lots of misguided people in the
world. We continue with summer here in Oklahoma, and many continue to wonder (I'm
wide open here, be gentle) why make such a big deal out of the heat. Well, for
one thing, it's dangerous, especially with the heat index thrown in.





Third, we're still acclimating to the extreme heat somewhat after a mostly mild
summer. Oh, what was #2? GROSS!



But don't worry, help is on the way, albeit temporary.





Well you know if the temps are going to be down in the 70s and 80s during late
July, there must be a cold front, and if there is a cold front, more than likely
there's gonna be clouds, and if there are clouds, there might be rain, and
if there's rain, there could be some severe weather.

Yes, yes, yes, and yes (maybe an extra yes in there for good measure).









Heck, it's, uhhhh, raining right now for crying out loud? Sorta?



Hey, know what else is missing this spring and summer?

My hair? PLEASE...been done before. Amateurs!

No, the wind. Maybe it's because of the gales we put up with for most of the
warm season last year (remember, April 2022 was/is the windiest month on record
for the Mesonet era...1994-2023), but this year seems relatively tame by
comparison. Check out this graph of the statewide-average departure-from-average
maximum wind speeds as measured by the Oklahoma Mesonet for 2022 (green) vs.
this year (maroon?), March through present.



I know, right?? As windy as it was last year, it's been more LESS windy this
year. Only in the past couple of weeks have we had sustained "windy" conditions.
Bringing it back to the hair, this was the spring to have lots of it if you
didn't want it messed up.

I don't know, right??

Okay, that's enough for today. Fry today and parts of tomorrow, then relax with
the cooler weather this weekend and await summer's return next week.

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