In a land down under, rain is much more scarce, which is probably why they measure it in millimeters, not inches (OK, not really). Map by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
When you have a weather phenomenon like La Niña, you have your have-nots (us) and your haves.
As Jerry mentioned yesterday, our have-not status is unquestioned: 32 inches of rain for all of 2011... 31.99, to be exact. A normal rainfall year has 40.93 inches of rain, according to the weather service. Check out more ways our area was atypical in Jerry's blog entry
here.
And now, the haves: Australia had the third-highest rainfall year on record in 2011, according to the Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology.
Its annual Australian Climate Statement shows that nationwide, the average rainfall was 699 millimeters.
And now, you math experts are ready to smack me: You mean Australia is a "have" and they actually had
less rainfall than us, an alleged "have-not?" 699 millimeters is about 27.5 inches!
In this case, yes: nationwide, Australia typically receives 465 mm (about 18.3 inches) annually. When you live in an area not accustomed to that level of rain, you get situations like this:
That a photo from Australian news site ABC. You can read more on their article
here.
As for Oklahoma's current drought situation, for the second week in a row, it looks virtually unchanged. D4 allegedly went up to 3.78 percent from 3.33 percent, but since no other numbers changed, I had a feeling it was a typo. Check it out yourself at
tulsaworld.com/droughtarchive.
Oklahoma Climatological Survey state associate climatologist Gary McManus, however, assures us that this is no typo. He explains it
here. I, however, like a more flashy graphic approach:
Can't spot it? I'll give you a hint: Look in the southwest corner of the state for an expanding D4 (exceptional drought, in dark red) section.
--Althea Peterson
