Ticker for January 4, 2024

                
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Verifiable winter




That's right, your boy's back from his trip to merry old England with his fam
(Zoomer to English translation: I'm back from our trip to London with the
Southmoore band, which got to play in the world famous London New Year's Day
Parade). Somebody asked me to describe the weather in London...my best reply?

Drizzle.

No, just drizzle. Drizzle in the morning, drizzle in the evening, drizzle all day
long. Folks over there call it "liquid sunshine." It drizzled outside, it drizzled
in the shops, in the restaurants, and in the bathroom (don't ask). As a result,
I'm late with the December 2023 and Calendar Year 2023 summaries, but I hope to
have those completed Friday or at the latest next Monday. I'm still officially
off today (sorry, I have no more "off" jokes), but I had to talk about some
actual excitement in Oklahoma's weather coming up.

First we have freezing fog this morning. I know, right? Freezing fog is the Ringo
of winter weather hazards. Most of the time you don't notice it because of it's
more famous bandmates, like snow and ice, but it's still impactful nevertheless
(and neverthemore).









Speaking of snow, watch out up in northern OK tomorrow, where some impactful
snows of 1-3 inches could accumulate for a bit before melting, causing some
concerns for motorists.







And then ANOTHER possible winter storm Monday into Tuesday.



Now all of these snow shenanigans are being done without the support of true
Arctic air. It's all this dynamic cooling bidness through ascent and precip
production where the storms basically generate their own cold air, cold enough
to allow snow. But the forecast models are now starting to push a big Arctic
cold front through the area next weekend sometime. There's not much agreement
on the timing...it's still right around fantasy-cast territory, after all. But
it is starting to gain momentum. The top graphic is for 6 p.m. next Saturday,
displaying wind chills at that time. This would be a fairly rare event for this
cool season. I can't even remember the last big Arctic air outbreak. Was it
before Halloween?

At any rate, look for updates on our upcoming storms because impacts are
possible. Then start to prepare for some possible TRUE winter air next weekend.

As a bonus, here's a look at how Dec. 2023 came out, as the 4th warmest December
in OK since records began in 1895, and the 25th wettest (3rd wettest in the
Panhandle!).











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