Residents search through debris after a storm ripped through Coble, Tenn. early Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013. A large storm system packing high winds, hail and at least one tornado tore across a wide swath of the South and Midwest on Wednesday, killing one person, blacking out power to thousands and damaging homes. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Sunday morning, I woke up to snow falling on the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Twelve hours later, I was back in Tulsa, where it was in the 60s and humid.
Then it got to 75 degrees Monday. It made me miss the snow.
I love a warm , beautiful day, but I like my seasons. Just not all in one week.
The temperature Monday was 29 degrees above normal in Tulsa. As of Tuesday, January is 3.2 degrees above normal.
It’s a continuation of Tulsa’s abnormally warm months, which is further exacerbating our abnormally dry months and sending us further into drought.
Even the 0.91 inches of rain we had Tuesday in Tulsa won’t make much of a difference in the long run, as the next seven days are dry and warmer.
BUT, we had nearly an inch of rain Tuesday. That’s fantastic right now.
The storm system that came through Tuesday brought much-needed
moisture to the area. The winner was Newkirk with 2.67 inches. The loser was – again – The Panhandle. Boise City has gone 108 days without .25 inches of rain or more.
While we haven’t had any measurable snow this year, we have had
a tornado. An EF-2 tornado formed about 2:55 p.m. Tuesday about 13 miles northeast of Muldrow in Sequoyah County and traveled about 7 miles before it ended 3 miles north of Natural Dam, Ark., in Crawford County. The tornado had a width of about 480 meters.
There were no injuries with the tornado. Further damage surveys were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
The tornado and storms Tuesday were part of a larger storm system that
continues to sweep across the country, spawning more tornadoes today. Nine were reported Tuesday and there have been five so far in preliminary reports Wednesday, including this one in Adairsville, Ga.
At least one person was killed by this tornado. Another person was killed in Tennessee. Eight injuries were reported from a tornado in Calhoun, Ga., according to
preliminary reports.
The fatalities ended the longest streak of non-fatal tornadoes in the more than 60-year history of detailed records. The last person to die in a tornado was on June 24, 220 days ago as of Tuesday.
January tornadoes in Oklahoma aren’t unheard of, but they are rare. Since 1950, there have been 17, including the tornado Tuesday in Sequoyah County. Significantly less than the most active month: May with 1,347 since 1950.
Back to our winter that wasn’t, Tulsa has only recorded a trace of snow this season. The last winter with only a trace of snow was 1911.
In our Weather World Snow Contest, everyone is losing. But, Jenks Middle School student Katelyn is losing the least with her guess of 0.7 inches of snow this season.
A snowless winter this late in the season doesn’t mean much, however. Our snowiest winter, the 2011 blizzard, had 3.6 inches of snow through January until we had 22.5 inches in February. Our second snowiest season, 1924, had only 5.9 inches through January until 19.7 inches in March.
So, no one is out of the game yet. Well, Briel may be. She guessed 28 inches. That’s a lot of catching up to do. Though, now that I’ve said that, prepare for BLIZZARD 2013.
-- Jerry Wofford
