News - Blogs - Drought conditions best since Oct. 2010. Plus waterfalls

Drought conditions best since Oct. 2010. Plus, waterfalls
Published: 3/26/2012 11:59 AM
Last Modified: 3/26/2012 12:09 PM

A week ago today was the start of one of the wettest weeks we’ve had in Tulsa in several months.

Actually, on a broader scale, it was the start of one of the wettest weeks we’ve had in Oklahoma in several months.

According to the Oklahoma Mesonet’s recording stations scattered throughout the state, nearly every single part of the state received at least 0.25 inches of rain in the last seven days. In the last 10 days, every station except for two had more than an inch of rain. Wanna guess where those two are?

The Panhandle. The only part of the state that is still in the most severe drought category.

But on the whole, right now is the best the state has been in its overall drought condition since October 2010. Sixty-three percent of the state is in no drought category. Last week, that number was at 26.5 percent.

So, that’s what 4-6 inches of rain will get ya.

Below are a collection of maps from the U.S. Drought Monitor. The first is the most current drought conditions, issued last Thursday but through last Tuesday, halfway through the rain event. Next is Oct. 5, 2010, the last time we had more than 63 percent of the state in no drought category. Finally, the most severe week of the drought: Sept. 13, 2011. In that map, 68 percent of the state was in the most severe category.

So, the last year and a half have really been a roller coaster for the state. And not one of those fun roller coasters. It’s more like one of those at the fair that is hastily constructed in a parking lot and is terrifying, because as it goes along, odds are you will probably survive, but you could careen off the edge at any time.

Fortunately, we have come back from the edge and are starting to pull into the station. The drought has really started to wind down and we are getting back to a more settled state, but the operator could just be a teasing jerk and send you along the track again.

That probably won't happen though (if you've followed my ridiculous analogy to this point, congratulations. You can't see it, but I'm clapping for you). The La Nina phenomenon, which has a vast effect on our weather, is winding down and should be gone by summer. Most predictions from the Climate Prediction Center are that for the next few weeks and months, we will have equal chances of normal levels of precipitation.

Right now, we are more than 2 inches above normal for the year. If we get normal rainfall for the foreseeable future, it could be a great year.

Another good part about excessive rainfall is the falling that water does after it is already on the ground. I went to Arkansas to do some waterfall hunting with the brothers, armed with a crude topographical map and a compass on my phone. We blazed trails and followed others through the Ozark National Forest until we found what we were looking for. Here is one we found Sunday, the 71-foot High Bank Twin Falls north of Ozark, Ark., along the Mulberry River.

There is a blazed trail to this one, but no signs. There were no other hikers in the hour we were there, so it's still a bit of a secret. If you want to know how to get there, you'll have to ask me on Facebook or Twitter or email me.

--Jerry Wofford

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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