12.12.08 pictureNovember 2008 Warm and Dry

"November finished as a warm and dry month, the 30th driest and 49th warmest on record. There were only two periods with significant rainfall, but the first instance brought the state a rare November outbreak of severe weather. Many reports of large hail, torrential rains and severe winds occurred with storms on the fifth, including the 83rd November tornado spotted in Oklahoma since 1950. The only region of the state with appreciable rainfall as compared to the established normal was a small area centered on Payne County. Most of the state was 20-60 percent of normal for the month."


The paragraph above is the introduction from the Oklahoma Monthly Climate Summary for "November 2008" written by Gary McManus of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Gary does a great job of compiling a detailed collection of tables and maps to tell the monthly climate story.


Gary includes a look into what December 2008 may be like starting on page 10.


To get to the summary on Agweather ---

go to "CLIMATE"

then "Oklahoma Climate Data"

click "OK Climate Data"

select "Monthly Summaries"

next "November 2008."

11.11.08 pictureNew OKC Weather Network

A new OKC weather network was unveiled on November 8, 2008. The Oklahoma City Micronet (OKCNET) is a 40-station network of real-time weather observing stations. It consists of four Oklahoma Mesonet stations and 36 miniature weather stations mounted on traffic signals across Oklahoma City. The multipurpose network provides critical weather information for the daily operations of Oklahoma City, supports new scientific research focused on urban meteorology and serves as a resource for the citizens of central Oklahoma.

OKCNET was developed during a 5-year collaboration between the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OCS), the Oklahoma Mesonet, the University of Oklahoma (OU) and the City of Oklahoma City. The unveiling of the 40-station Oklahoma City Micronet represents a significant milestone in the history of weather data collection in metropolitan areas and is the first of its kind in the world in terms of data collection, quality and availability to a variety of end users.

"The Micronet's technology provides remarkable information that will benefit our residents in terms of public safety," said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. "It will provide City crews with real time, detailed information about weather conditions citywide, so we can better anticipate everything from the location of freezing roads and flash flooding to the direction a fire might spread. In this type of partnership everyone wins."

"The University of Oklahoma is proud to have supported the development, deployment, and operation of the Oklahoma City Micronet," said Dr. Paul G. Risser, Chair of the University of Oklahoma Research Cabinet. "We see the state of the art atmospheric monitoring network in Oklahoma City not only as a valuable resource to the academic and research activities at the National Weather Center, but also as a tool that will pioneer new insights into urban meteorology and climate that will benefit anyone living in urban environments around the globe."

To learn more about OKCNET and view current weather data, visit the website at http://okc.mesonet.org.

Contacts:
Dr. Jeff Basara, Director of Research, Oklahoma Climatological Survey
Phone: 405-325-1760 E-mail: jbasara@ou.edu

Brad Illston, Research Associate, Oklahoma Climatological Survey
Phone: 405-325-5445 E-mail: illston@ou.edu

10.27.08 pictureFreezing temps arrive

Freezing temperatures blanketed large portions of Oklahoma on the morning of October 27, 2008. Temperatures of 31 degrees F or less were recorded at 81 of the 120 Oklahoma Mesonet sites. El Reno and Boise City dropped to 24 degrees F, the two coldest Mesonet locations in the state. The warmest overnight temperature was 39 degrees F at Clayton.


To keep tabs on high and low air temperatures across Oklahoma, check out the "Over Time" air temperature products on Agweather. By clicking on the top "Weather" tab and then "Air Temperature," you can select from "Today's High and Low Air Temp" or "Yesterday's High and Low Air Temp."

10.10.08 picturePacific storm punches

Oklahoma has already experienced moisture from one Pacific hurricane this season, Hurricane Norbert will be the next. Norbert is expected to move into Mexico early Sunday morning, October 12. Moisture from this system will then head into the Great Plains area, with some of that moisture expected to cross over western Oklahoma in the early part of the week.


Pacific moisture won't get as much attention as an Atlantic hurricane, but it can pack a punch of its own. Just ask the folks in Fairview, Oklahoma. The Mesonet site near Fairview recorded 9.13 inches of rain on September 12, 2008. The day before, September 11, there was 1.55 inches and the next day, September 13, another 1.15 inches fell from the clouds. That gave Fairview an official total of 11.83 inches for a storm event powered by moisture from Tropical Storm Lowell.

By September 19, Governor Henry had requested a major disaster declaration for Alfalfa, Grant, Kay, Major and Woods counties. President Bush authorized Governor Henry's request on October 9, 2008. Five more counties were added in the final disaster declaration due to severe storms and tornadoes they experienced. The official disaster declaration included: Alfalfa, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Grant, Harper, Kay, Major, Woods, and Woodward counties.

For more information on the October 9, 2008 Oklahoma Disaster Declaration go to --- http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10730

09.10.08 pictureRain, Rain and Ike

Forecasted weather events are pointing to heavy rain over the vast majority of Oklahoma from September 10 through 15, 2008. The rain began in southern Oklahoma on the morning of Sept. 10. The forecast calls for heavy rains to slide north into northwestern and north central Oklahoma, late Thursday, Sept. 11 and continue into Friday, Sept. 12.


Added to this rainfall will be moisture entering the state from Hurricane Ike. The center of Ike is forecast to be in Oklahoma by 7 AM CDT Monday, Sept. 15. The center of Ike is forecasted to be somewhere between the Oklahoma cities of Durant, Atoka and Hugo at that time.

For the latest regional look from the Norman Forecast Office, go to the Agweather "Forecast" section, click on "Nat. Weather Service" on the left menu tab, then select "OK Regional Outlook."

To get the latest hurricane information from the National Hurricane Center, go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.









09.05.08 pictureFaster Radar

New features have been added to speed radar loading under "Local Radar" on Agweather. Folks in rural areas have been disappointed about how long it was taking to load radar images and run radar movies, since we switched to WeatherScope in July. We have been tossing around ideas on how best to speed up radar loading times and we have implemented the best of those.


We have removed details for surrounding states, which speeds loading times, when you first access "Local Radar." To see details (counties, highways, etc) for a nearby state you are interested in, click the box in front of the state name. These boxes and state names are located just under the map for choosing your radar site. Then go back and reselect the radar site of interest. Details for checked states show up in the radar movies as well. Your state selection will stay active until you leave the "Radar/Satellite" section.

Thanks to all those who sent in comments about Agweather radar. We hope you find that these new options make Agweather more useful to you and your family.

09.01.08 pictureHurricane Gustav

Hurricane Gustav is a major hurricane that will have far flung impacts. Another great source for information about Gustav is the National Hurricane Center Web site. This is the official National Weather Service Web site with a variety of products. Their Web site is at ---


http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

For information on how Gustav will impact Oklahoma weather, you can check out the Norman Forecast Office Enhanced Web page at ---

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/enhanced.php

Once on this page, click on "Tropical Update."

08.19.08 pictureSlow radar?

Are you having problems loading the radar? You are not alone. A number of folks have found that the radar featured on the new Agweather site takes longer than forever to load. We've received comments and concerns regarding this problem and are in the process of speeding it up. In the next week, the radar images will become more simplified. They will look less "busy" and will load much more quickly. Please bear with us as we work to fix this problem.


We always appreciate user comments. If you would like to voice comments or concerns, call Laura at (405) 325-3126 or e-mail at laura.martin@okstate.edu.


If you are experiencing technical problems with the Web site, please do not hesitate to call our operators at (405) 325-3231. They work 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

08.08.08 pictureNO MAPS or GRAPHS

Windows Internet Explorer wants to keep you safe, but in doing so it blocks WeatherScope the first time it tries to display a map or graph.

The ActiveX Windows Internet Explorer security warning is VERY HARD to see. It is a narrow band that is just below the browser menu tabs. The warning box is narrow, runs the full width of your browser window and is typically a pale yellow-tan color.

The text in the box will say "Your Security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls on this page. As a result, the page may not display correctly." or "The Web site wants to run the following add-on: 'Name ActiveX Control' from 'Microsoft Corporation'. If you trust the Web site and the add-on and want to allow it to run, click here...."

To allow WeatherScope maps and graphs to show up, click on the long, thin warning box that pops up. After clicking, a new, small menu will pop up. Select "Run ActiveX." Your map or graph should come up.

You only have to allow the ActiveX once. WeatherScope maps and graphs will automatically be displayed without the warning after that.

07.02.08 pictureHaving problems?


Are you having problems loading some of the maps on the new
Agweather Web site? If so, you might be encountering one of several common problems...


Did you download the software? To install WeatherScope on your computer, click on the light yellow "Download WeatherScope" button on the home page. The button is located toward the middle of the page on the left. Then click "Download for PC" or "Download for Mac," depending on your computer's operating system. If you already downloaded WeatherScope, did you close and restart your Web browser? If this didn't solve your problem, call (405) 325-3231.

Did you run the installer? Sometimes, the software will get downloaded onto your computer, but will not be installed. To fix this, find the software and open it. That should prompt the installer to start. For help, call (405) 325-3231.

Have you allowed for ActiveX control? When WeatherScope is run for the first time, the ActiveX control may be blocked by Internet Explorer's security settings. When this happens, a security notification bar may appear at the top of the Web page. Right-click on this bar and install the ActiveX control. If the bar does not appear, call (405) 325-3231 for more instructions.

Do you use antivirus/security software? If you use antivirus/security software, this software might be rejecting WeatherScope. For help, call (405) 325-3231.

Do you use firewalls or proxies? If you use firewalls or proxies, they could potentially limit your Internet use. To get WeatherScope working on your computer, call (405) 325-3231.

Does the software crash when you visit our Web site? You might be using outdated graphics drivers. If you are experiencing this problem, call our operators for assistance at (405) 325-3231.

Does the map show up without any data? If you're having this problem, check your computer's clock to make sure it's showing the correct date, time and time zone. We recommend that you have your computer automatically sync its clock with an Internet time server. For help with this, call (405) 325-3231.


If you are experiencing any problems with the Web site, please do not hesitate to call our operators at (405) 325-3231. They work 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.