Winter weather and precipitation info from Gary McManus, Oklahoma Climatological Survey
MESONET TICKER … MESONET TICKER … MESONET TICKER … MESONET TICKER …
February 27, 2013 February 27, 2013 February 27, 2013 February 27, 2013
Meltage
Temperatures rose above freezing yesterday across northwestern Oklahoma.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130227/yesterday.TAIR.max.grad.png
And forecast to go above freezing today.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130227/wednesday-highs.png
That, along with the nearly-March power of the sun, has sped up the melting of
the snowpack up in the northwest, making it seem as though that area continues
to get rainfall on the Mesonet rain total maps. That’s why you see up to a half
an inch of rain across some parts of the state, but no radar estimate overlay.
The “rain” occurred over two days ago.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130227/rainrfc.24hr.png
It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Of course, it was something of a lump of coal
in the stocking, leaving tens of thousands without power and an entire section
of the state paralyzed. The statewide average for February is up to 2.99 inches,
which would rank as the 12th wettest on record. Moving up the ranks!
Some amazing snow totals from up that way, however, thanks to the consecutive
snowstorms. Alva, for instance, came within inches of breaking the monthly
snowfall total for the state. The NWS COOP observer located one mile west of
Alva recorded 35.6 inches of snow for the month thus far. That’s about 4 inches
away from the all-time record of 39.5 inches from the best place in the
universe, Buffalo, set back in February 1971.
All records owned by Buffalo will remain forever, even if I have to grab a
hair drier and a 100-mile long extension cord. Seriously though, that was a
close one.
More importantly, that snow, along with a bit of rain, amounted to 4.95 inches
of liquid moisture for the Alva area. THAT is a drought-denter right there,
and the bulk of it will be able to moisten those soils as it slowly melts.
Combine that with the 0.82 inches from January and they have a grand total of
5.77 inches for the January-February period.
We will patiently await the next storm system for further help. The CPC insists
it’s coming sometime about 8-14 days from now.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130227/8-14-precip-outlook.gif
Maybe just a hint of that showing up on the 7-day HPC rain forecast.
http://ticker.mesonet.org/archive/20130227/7day-rain.gif
That’s okay. We’re patient. We can wait.
OG&E System Watch, outages includes, 5,297 outages at Enid, 859 outages at Meno and 808 outages at Medford
Today’s forecasted high temperatures, from the National Weather Service, Norman Forecast Office
Hazardous weather outlook, National Weather Service, Norman
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
WED FEB 27 2013
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
WED FEB 27 2013
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN…WESTERN…
CENTRAL…AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA…AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT…
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK…
NO THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED.
DISCUSSION…
A COOL AND STABLE AIRMASS WILL PERSIST.
PROBABILITY TABLE…
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CST THURSDAY FEB 28.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA…ZERO PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER…
NONE.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY…
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK…
NO THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER…
NONE.
Air temperatures at Oklahoma Mesonet stations
Outages, following are some of the outages listed on OG&E System Watch
OG&E System Watch
Some of the outages include:
Enid, 7,144 outages
Meno, 859 outages
Medford, 808 outages
Deer Creek, Okla., 622 outages
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Traffic Advisory Update
Road Conditions Update 2-26-13 – 8 p.m.
Improvements continue to be made in northwestern Oklahoma, but many highways remain closed. It is still hard to predict when everything will be cleared.
The following highways are currently closed as of 8 p.m.:
- Alfalfa Co: SH-45 is closed between the Garfield county line and SH-8 in Alfalfa County.
- Garfield Co: SH-132 one mile south of the Grant county line due to downed power lines.
- Grant Co: US-81 between Medford and Pond Creek.
- Noble Co: SH-15 is closed between US-77 and I-35 in Noble County.
- Ellis Co: All highways closed.
- Beaver Co: All highways closed.
- Woodward Co: SH-50 is closed within Woodward County.
- Woodward Co: SH-34 between US-270 and Vici is closed.
Crews in northwest Oklahoma are reporting slick and hazardous roadways and are treating roads and plowing. Travel is discouraged in this area. Although crews made progress throughout the day, blowing snow and refreezing could impede clearing efforts. Crews will continue clearing efforts until all highways are clear.
In western Oklahoma, highways are mostly clear, but there are still slick spots. Crews are sanding and salting areas and clearing roadways as needed. Even though there are sections of dry roadways in the area, please use extreme caution as there are still slick spots in the area.
Thirty counties received heavy snow, some up to 20 inches. Approximately 500 – 600 ODOT Personnel have been working 24/7 to clear the roads. Crews have been shifted from unaffected parts of the state to help out in the harder hit areas.
There are 550 trucks available statewide, including 60 in the Oklahoma City metro area and more than 40 in the Tulsa metro area. Sand and salt sheds are stocked and crews remain ready to respond to conditions.
During snow and/or ice conditions, motorists are asked to:
· Check road conditions before getting out on the roads.
· Stay at least 200 feet behind road-clearing equipment; crews need room to maneuver and can engage plowing or spreading materials without notice.
· Allow extra space between vehicles, so there is adequate distance for braking in wet and icy conditions.
· Be aware of “black ice,” which looks wet on the roadway, but is actually a thin layer of ice.
· Please be patient, plan trips ahead and allow extra time to reach destinations
Out-of-State Road Conditions
Arkansas 800-245-1672
Colorado 303-639-1111
Kansas 866-511-5368
Missouri 800-222-6400
New Mexico 800-432-4269
Oklahoma 888-425-2385
Texas 800-452-9292
To check CURRENT ROAD CONDITIONS, call the Department of Public Safety’s ROAD CONDITIONS HOTLINE at 888-425-2385.
30-day rainfall map of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Mesonet
Interesting map, that is Kenton in the far western Oklahoma Panhandle, Oklahoma Mesonet
Traffic Advisory Update, Oklahoma Department of Transportation
February 26, 2013
Road Conditions Update 2-26-13 – 4:30 p.m.
In western and northwestern Oklahoma, crews have made a lot of improvements with snow and ice removal, however some highways still remain closed.
The following highways are currently closed as of this afternoon:
- Alfalfa Co: SH-45 is closed between the Garfield county line and SH-8 in Alfalfa County.
- Garfield Co: SH-132 one mile south of the Grant county line due to downed power lines.
- Grant Co: US-81 between Medford and Pond Creek.
- Noble Co: SH-15 is closed between US-77 and I-35 in Noble County.
- Harper Co: US-183 from US-64 north into Kansas
- Harper Co: SH-149 closed within Harper County
- Harper Co: SH-46 closed within Harper County
- Harper Co: US-64 closed between US-283 and the Beaver county line.
- Ellis Co: All highways closed.
- Beaver Co: All highways closed.
- Woodward Co: All highways closed.
Crews in northwest Oklahoma are reporting slick and hazardous roadways and are treating roads and plowing. Travel is discouraged in this area. Although crews made progress throughout the day, blowing snow and refreezing could impede clearing efforts.
In western Oklahoma, highways are mostly clear, but there are still slick spots. Crews are sanding and salting areas and clearing roadways as needed. Even though there are sections of dry roadways in the area, please use extreme caution as there are still slick spots in the area.
Thirty counties received heavy snow, some up to 20 inches. Approximately 500 – 600 ODOT Personnel have been working 24/7 to clear the roads. Crews have been shifted from unaffected parts of the state to help out in the harder hit areas.
There are 550 trucks available statewide, including 60 in the Oklahoma City metro area and more than 40 in the Tulsa metro area. Sand and salt sheds are stocked and crews remain ready to respond to conditions.
During snow and/or ice conditions, motorists are asked to:
· Check road conditions before getting out on the roads.
· Stay at least 200 feet behind road-clearing equipment; crews need room to maneuver and can engage plowing or spreading materials without notice.
· Allow extra space between vehicles, so there is adequate distance for braking in wet and icy conditions.
· Be aware of “black ice,” which looks wet on the roadway, but is actually a thin layer of ice.
· Please be patient, plan trips ahead and allow extra time to reach destinations
Out-of-State Road Conditions
Arkansas 800-245-1672
Colorado 303-639-1111
Kansas 866-511-5368
Missouri 800-222-6400
New Mexico 800-432-4269
Oklahoma 888-425-2385
Texas 800-452-9292
To check CURRENT ROAD CONDITIONS, call the Department of Public Safety’s ROAD CONDITIONS HOTLINE at 888-425-2385.
