11.16.09 El Nino winter ahead

Climatologists have predicted an El Nino winter, which could bring wet weather
to Oklahoma. By definition, El Nino is the warming of the equatorial Pacific waters.
This warming increases the chances for weather systems to affect the southern United
States. In general, El Nino means more precipitation, but it's impossible to predict
the strength of this El Nino event.

Below are maps showing the trends of strong, moderate and weak El Nino events.

10.22.09 How are we doing?

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Click here to take a quick 10-question survey. We greatly appreciate it!

Also, feel free to call us anytime with questions or comments at 405-325-3126.

10.11.09 Freezing temperatures enter state

The lazy days of summer are fading away, and it is time to start pulling out coats and scarves
to prepare for the winter months ahead.

The Oklahoma Mesonet recorded its first freezing temperatures of the season in the Oklahoma
Panhandle on October 2.

Boise City            28 degrees
Beaver               29 degrees
Kenton              30 degrees
Goodwell     32 degrees

Oklahoma's average first freeze occurs between mid-October and mid-November depending on
your location. As you can see in the map below, the Panhandle typically freezes
first, followed by northern Oklahoma and the southern part of the state is typically
last to receive its first freeze.

The Agweather Web site features High and Low Temperature maps, which allow users to
see the highest and lowest temperatures in an area for the current and past day. To access
this map, click on "Weather" from the main page, click "Air temperature." In the "Over Time"
section of the drop down menu you will see "Today's High and Low Air Temp" and
"Yesterday's High and Low Air Temp."

08.27.09 Irrigation planning

Watering your crops based on the actual water use of plants will reduce irrigation costs, conserve Oklahoma water resources and help you grow healthier plants. The Agweather Web site (agweather.mesonet.org) can help you determine the best time to irrigate your crops by using irrigation planners.

Agweather Irrigation Planners compare the water loss of the crop to the rainfall received. When the "Water Balance" is positive, there is plenty of water for the crop. When the "Water Balance" turns negative, the crop is drawing off water stored in the soil from previous rains.

You need to decide on a negative "trigger point" for irrigating your crop. When the water balance falls to your "trigger point" and rain is not forecasted, you should irrigate.

Finding Irrigation Planners:

Agronomic Crops:

To find the Irrigation Planner designed for your crop visit
agweather.mesonet.org. Under the "Crop" tab on the horizontal menu bar, you
will find a list of crops down the left side of your browser window. Select the
crop you want to get irrigation information for and select "Irrigation Planner."

Irrigation planners are available for wheat, grass hay, alfalfa, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean and peanuts.

Horticultural Crops:

For horticulture irrigation planners, visit agweather.mesonet.org and select the "Horticulture" tab from the horizontal menu bar. Select your crop from the menu on the left side of your browser menu and select "Irrigation Planner."

Irrigation planners are available for pecans, peaches, grapes, watermelon, tomatoes, sweet corn, spinach, peppers and garden vegetables.

07.17.09 Help your plants handle the heat

Root zone soil temperatures above 90 degrees F essentially stop root growth. High temperatures shutdown root hair expansion, hindering the plant's ability to absorb water and nutrients.

With air temperatures in triple digits, bare soil temperatures at 4 inches below the surface can climb to the lower 100's, well above the ideal temperature range for plant roots.

So how can you maintain the proper soil temperature for your plants? Use mulch.

Mulch is vital in insulating plant roots and maintaining lower soil temperatures.

According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, July 10, 2009 came in as the hottest day of the year so far. The table below shows air and soil temperatures at Hinton, Okla from July 9 to 13, 2009. On July 10th it reached a whopping 108 degrees. Yet, despite the extreme heat, the soil temperature at 4 inches under sod stayed in the low-80's.

The soil temperature from the Oklahoma Mesonet under sod is just like having a 2-inch layer of mulch on vegetables or flowers. It's that simple. To help your plants not only survive, but thrive this summer spread some mulch around garden and flower bed plants.

test
Yellow line- air temperature
Brown line- bare soil temperatures 4 inches below surface
Green line- under sod soil temperature

07.08.09 Give your lawn a SIP

As temperatures continue to rise and rainfall continues to be sporadic and scarce in most of Oklahoma, it is time to take a step toward keeping your lawn green this summer.

Simple Irrigation Plan (SIP), a program that uses the power of the Internet and Oklahoma Mesonet data, takes the guesswork out of when and how long to water to keep your lawn green this summer.

SIP uses weather data from the nearest Oklahoma Mesonet site to estimate the water use of your lawn. With forecasts from the National Weather Service, SIP estimates water use for up to 3 1/2 days ahead.

After a few quick selections, SIP will calculate how long you need to water and how much it will cost you based on your community's water rates. With three product options, Simple Watering, Advanced Watering and Advanced Water Plus, SIP allows you to choose how in-depth you want your watering estimates.

Check out SIP at http://sip.mesonet.org. If you have any questions, let us know at 405-325-3126.

06.22.09 Summer is here.

As some of us have been watching the temperature reach triple digits for a week now, it is hard to believe that summer has just officially arrived.

Oklahoma is known for hot, humid summers and this summer will likely be no different. With temperatures already breaking 100 degrees F in many areas and humidity percentages remaining up, we all begin to think about one thing--heat index.

Heat index is a tool that attempts to determine the human-perceived temperature by combining air temperature and relative humidity. Although the air temperature might be in the 90s, combined with the humidity percentage the heat index could easily exceed 100 degrees F.

The table below shows the likelihood of health problems with prolonged heat exposure or strenuous outdoor activities. Notice a heat index of 105 or higher is considered dangerous and precautions need to be taken to keep you and your family safe.

Check out our latest heat index map under the Weather tab, then click Air Temperature and select Heat Index to determine the heat index in your area.

Likelihood of Heat Disorders with Prolonged Exposure or Strenuous Activity

05.27.09 Mesonet at 4 Billion & Counting

Four Billion Served!

Sorry for any McDonald's fans I've led astray. This Ticker is not about hamburgers. Not for lack of research, mind you! And if there is a support group for folks who still have psychological scars from their first encounter with the molten lava inside one of those hot apple pies, drop me an e-mail. Burger King fans have their own problems, so we won't even go there.

No, we're talking Oklahoma Mesonet observations here. At 9:48 AM on May 27, 2009, the Oklahoma Mesonet celebrated its four billionth air and soil observation. Most of you know all about the Mesonet, but for those of you that don't, here's a bit more information, free of charge! Now, you want fries with that or what?

Since January 1, 1994, every five minutes, these weather stations have quietly measured air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, rainfall, solar radiation, and various other observations.

What's not quiet, however, are the impacts those four billion measurements have had on the lives of Oklahomans. Through its use by school teachers, emergency managers, agricultural producers, state and local officials, and other decision makers, the Mesonet has been instrumental in protecting the lives and property of Oklahomans, mitigating the effects of adverse weather on our economy, and opening up new learning opportunities for Oklahoma schoolchildren.

The Oklahoma Mesonet is a joint project between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University. There are 120 Mesonet stations in Oklahoma, with at least one station in every county of the state. It is funded primarily through the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.

Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey

04.15.09 Garvin County Drops Burn Ban

Garvin County discontinued its County Burn Ban on April 15, 2009.

Currently 5 counties have active Burn Bans. Most of these are in effect from April 13, 2009 through April 20, 2009. Oklahoma County has a Burn Ban in effect from April 10, 2009 to April 17, 2009.

Counties with Burn Bans include: Cimarron, Greer, Kiowa, Murray and Oklahoma Counties.

County authority to issue individual County Burn Bans was approved by the Oklahoma state legislature in 2008 and became effective on June 2, 2008. County commissioners in Oklahoma's 77 counties now have authorization to issue local county Burn Bans for up to 7 days.

The Governor of Oklahoma can issue Burn Bans that supersede County Burn Bans. Burn Bans issued by the Governor remain in effect until cancelled by the Governor. Individual County Burn Bans are only effective for 7 days. Counties can repeat the 7-day County Burn Bans as needed to meet fire management concerns.

State and county public officials realize the restrictions this places on citizens and are careful to only issue Burn Bans when these restrictions are necessary to protect life and property.

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry has Burn Ban Information online that includes a state map of Burn Bans in effect and links to electronic copies of any county burn ban proclamations. To get to the ODAFF Burn Ban Web page via the Agweather Web site, click on the "Range/Forest" top menu tab. Then select, "Burn Ban Info" in the left menu that appears. Next, click on "Oklahoma Burn Ban Info." Select "Burn Bans" for more background information or to go directly to the Oklahoma map showing current Burn Bans click the title link "Burn Bans in Effect."

During a Burn Ban, it is against the law to set fire to any forest, grass, range, crop, or other wild lands. It is also illegal to build a campfire or bonfire, or to burn trash.

The following is the Oklahoma Statutes text pertaining to Burn Ban restrictions and environmental considerations:

It is unlawful for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, range, crop or other wildlands, or to build a campfire or bonfire, or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass, range, crop or other wildlands fire in any county of this state in which the board of county commissioners of the county has passed a resolution declaring a period of extreme fire danger. As used in this subsection, "extreme fire danger" means:

a. moderate, severe or extreme drought conditions exist as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pursuant to its criteria, and

b. no more than one-half (1/2) inch of precipitation is forecast for the next three (3) days, and

c. fire occurrence is significantly greater than normal for the season and/or initial attack on a significant number of wildland fires has been unsuccessful due to extreme fire behavior, and

d. more than twenty percent (20%) of the wildfires in the county have been caused by escaped debris or controlled burning.

04.14.09 Six Counties with Burn Bans

Currently 6 counties have active Burn Bans. Most of these are in effect from April 13, 2009 through April 20, 2009. Oklahoma County has a Burn Ban in effect from April 10, 2009 to April 17, 2009.

Counties with Burn Bans include: Cimarron, Garvin, Greer, Kiowa, Murray and Oklahoma Counties.