Zack asks: “Where’s the snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
We’ve certainly seen some cold air this winter, and we have more to come. We’ll have two more fronts this upcoming work week. Yet, here are the most recent rains at Will Rogers (anything above a trace):
December 27: .47″
December 8: .05″
November 10: .25″
November 5: .44″
October 22: .56″
Today will be 14 days without measurable rain. With the exception of .05″ on December 8th, we were dry from November 11 to December 27.
This is typically our driest time of the year. But–this is a little excessive. We’ve had a lot of cold fronts, but what we haven’t had is a storm that is able to draw moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico. A cold front is no guarantee of rain–you have to have the moisture for it to interact with. For a good winter rain, you like to see a storm system roll in out of the southwest toward the southern Plains, and for it to draw in a nice fetch of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
Parts of southcentral/southeastern Oklahoma are in a moderate/severe drought. Here’s the drought monitor:
The darker orange in southcentral Oklahoma is severe drought. Drought feeds drought, and it usually takes a major shakeup in the weather pattern to change it. I don’t see that change coming anytime soon.
Look at southcentral Texas. That’s an exceptional drought. They had tons of rain in 2004, significant drought in 2005 and 2006, and then more significant rain in 2007. They just want “normal” for a few years…
Andy
