Ticker for December 12, 2023

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
December 12, 2023  December 12, 2023  December 12, 2023  December 12, 2023


The Rain-Files




It's the liquid equivalent, you see. I could make another Taco Bell joke here, but
then your parents would sue me, and it'd be a big mess. Yes, it's a rare day when
you get a mish-mash of "The X-Files" AND "The Breakfast Club," but these are rare
times. How, you say? No, I'm not listening in on your devices, I just reckon
that's what you'd say.

Getting 2-3 inches of rain in mid-December is rare for the High Plains!

In fact, the highest 3-day rainfall total I can find in OK history for the
Panhandle in December would be 4.47 inches of rain at Hooker from Dec. 29-31,
2006. Not too shabby, but for the other sites, the amounts go down pretty quickly.

For example, from some of the Panhandle sites with long periods of record:
* 3.11 inches at Kenton, Dec. 2-4, 1913
* 2.99 inches at Goodwell, Dec. 29-31, 2006
* 2.30 inches at Boise City, Dec. 29-31, 2006
* 1.67 inches at Guymon, Dec. 2-4, 1913

Okay, so something was up in both 1913 and 2006! Here's a look at Dec. 29-31,
2006, from the Oklahoma Mesonet.



WOW!

And for Dec. 2-4, 1913:



And as it turns out, 2006 was the wettest December on record for the Oklahoma
Panhandle with an average of 3.28 inches.



Coincidentally, Dec. 1913 was the 5th wettest with 2.14 inches.

The point is, other than the one on top of my head, that these types of rainfall
events are pretty darned rare for the High Plains in December. And while there
might still be some snow, just imagine if there was more cold air to work with?
Here are the thoughts of the NWS Amarillo office on snow chances in the Panhandle
this week.





That might be downplaying it just a bit. With that much moisture available,
if we can see just a bit of a dip in the temperatures throughout the
atmosphere, those snow totals could pile up in a hurry...with that much moisture
available. Any sort of wiggle-wobble in the storm track could mess all these
forecasts up. Hey, when has THAT ever happened? But somebody appears likely
to get a lot of rain, and potentially a lot of snow. And for those folks out
in the Panhandle, it's sorely needed (and needed sorely).



IF (and that's a big "if"...12-point font!) it does snow, maybe it could stick
around to Christmas? Well, no.



It won't stick around until Christmas.

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