Say hello to “Dixie Alley”. A “tornado alley” that is located in the southeast. Tornadoes are less frequent in this part of America than here in Oklahoma, but despite the fact that the frequency of tornadoes is less, the likelihood of tornado-related deaths is actually higher than Oklahoma. Tornadoes here can be long-track and due to the fact that this area is denser in population, the chances of hitting towns is higher.Also, visibility is less and tornadoes are often rain-wrapped. Check out the tornado tracks below in red. Those are so long track tornadoes!

So, when is Dixie Alley most active? Usually late winter and early spring is when you’ll see tornado watches popping up. Why now? It all has to do with The Gulf of Mexico and the amount of moisture that it is sending north. The Gulf is limited right now to how far inland it can send moisture and thus, within a few hundred mild of the water is where we’re likely to see tornadic storms.

-Damon

United Airlines calculated that the average wind in the last month has been about 50 mph stronger than previous winters, meaning that airplanes flying from west to east are having to burn more fuel to counteract. A process that over a span of hours will lead to noticeably less fuel that diverting becomes necessary. Of the 1100 flights that flew over The Atlantic from Europe, 43 had to divert in the last month because they simply couldn’t make it to their destination.

Of course, added stops leads to missed connections, but the good news, is that the stronger winds that blow from west to east are giving airlines a huge advantage. Turns out witht he added wind in the tail, airplanes are landing way ahead of schedule when traveling from The United States to Europe. Let’s be glad there isn’t a fee yet for landing earlier than normal.

-Damon

I usually plan out most of my ski trips in January. There’s suppose to be snow, lots of it by then, but not so much in Colorado. I took the above picture in Breckenridge of a “black-diamond” run. Typically, this would have a few feet of snow on it. Not so much this year. Here in Oklahoma, we pray for rain, but in Colorado, they pray for snow. (Say ‘em tonight please). And it’s not just Colorado..check this out to see a comparison of this year to last.

One year ago we were doing great with snow coverage. If anything, probably too much snow out there. But, the ski resorts were loving it. 62% of The United States had snow with an average depth of 6.3 inches. This year, it’s been a completely different story:

Now, look at yesterday’s snow coverage. Not lookin’ so hot. Only 16% of America has snow with an average depth of 1.5 inches. 1 month ago, 34% of America had snow. There was more snow in the fall than in the winter. But, where the snow is may be somewhat surprising. Midland,Texas has more snow than Chicago and Minneapolis. Who would have thought that? Wow!

-Damon

Last year was certainly an odd year for snow cover. Not because of the fact that 48% of The United States was covered in snow, but more so where the snow was located. Seeing North Carolina covered in that much snow is odd, but that’s about it. The places that should have snow on the ground certainly did. The average snow depth was also impressive, nearly half a foot. Now, let’s compare the same date to this year:

This year so far looks dry, way to dry. Places like Minneapolis, Chicao, SOuth Dakota, Eastern Montana all have bare ground. Not even a trace of snow can be see. If anything, Guymon,Oklahoma has more snow than Minneapolis. Now, that’s weird. Half of America is snowless compred to the same date last year (23%), and the average snow depth isn’t anything impressive either, only 1.5″.

This map will change though. Looking at the middle of January does show a more active pattern for places that are lacking snow. Happy shoveling everybody!

-Damon

2011 in Oklahoma may be best remembered for 2 things… the sweltering heat…and setting yet more tornado records. Here is a breakdown of what happened tornadowise in The Sooner State:

118 Tornadoes: 2nd most in a single year behind 1999 which had 145

14 Tornado Fatalities:  Deadliest year since 1999 which had 42 deaths

4 Violent (EF4/5) Tornadoes:  More than 1999 which had 3 and 2nd to 1960 which had 5.

50 April Tornadoes:  Most ever for April

3 Simultaneous Violent tornadoes:  May 24th from 5:25-5:35pm in Logan and McClain Counties

1 November Violent Tornado: Tipton, Oklahoma tornado rated EF4 making that the strongest tornado in November in Oklahoma.

Here’s hoping for a quieter 2012… – Damon

 These forecast maps show no sign of any arctic intrusions through the first several days of January.  In fact, much of the United States will have above average temperatures.  Our part of the nation looks pretty dry too.

So far, this young winter has been the milder and less snowy across much of the nation compared to last winter.  Look at a map of this year’s snow cover on Christmas day (top) compared to Christmas 2010 (bottom):

You know something is crazy when Midland, Texas has had more snow this winter than Chicago and Cleveland.

Rick

The map above was grabbed from the 06Z GFS Model run for New Years Eve. Yes, it may look complicated to you, but focus on The Northwest and look at all the green and even blue. This is something that has been lacking for most of the fall, and that is a series of storms moving into The Pacific Northwest and bringing snow. Thus, ski resorts, which do have snow, have been having so-so conditions, but not as good as they expected. Well, all that is about to change as places like Wyoming, Idaho and Montana are about to get slammed with feet of snow within the next week.This pattern is very typical of a La Nina season where storms roll in every few days.

Ski resorts will give you 2 thumbs up on a pattern like this (Colorado will get it’s turn too), but here in Oklahoma, we give this an evil stare. The reason is because it takes us back to a dry weather pattern where rain may be hard to come and eventually the fire season will return. So, if you enjoyed the rain for the past few months, signs are you may not see much for the winter.

-Damon

OK, so we may not see that much snow, but Christmas Day does have a chance for a little bit of precip here and there. No need to get concerned here, this won’t be a blizzard nor will there be any travel problems. But Southern Oklahoma and perhaps as far north as Southern Oklahoma City could see a few snowflakes and raindrops thrown in on Christmas.

This may be our last shot of rain for a while, La Nina is finally arriving…

-Damon

I know it’s still 6 days away and the way our weather changes around, I suppose this forecast could change, but right now, looking at Christmas, this is the best information we have. According to some of the models, another strongc old front could roll in here late Christmas Eve and drop those highs only into the 30s possible for Christmas. Strong northerly winds could keep wind chills in the 20s. So, while we may not have snow in the forecast for Christmas Day, we do have some cold air. Merry Christmas everybody!

-Damon

That’s a lot, and I mean, a lot of rain. And better yet is that it’s coming during the 3rd driest month of the entire year. This will no doubt erase the drought that is hitting the soils and likely fill the area lakes. Yes, the lakes are low, but this will help out a lot. As for snow, the snow will likekly remain in NW Oklahoma and The Oklahoma Panhandle. But, with the snow melting, it will provide moisture to the soils in parts of the state that really need it:

If you promised the kids a White Christmas, I can tell you where to go… cheers!

-Damon