The red dots mean that information is missing from that particular Oklahoma Mesonet site. It should come as no surprise that one of the missing sites from this Wednesday rainfall map is none other than Tipton.
A few days ago, I mentioned that the National Weather Service declared that Tipton's Nov. 7 tornado was the first EF4 in state history to happen in the month of November.
That seemed odd, so I just had to follow-up... and then my brother, the real meteorologist in the family, sent me this:
"Station knocked out by debris?!" I had to ask Gary McManus, associate state climatologist with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, about this.
"The Tipton and Fort Cobb Mesonet sites were both taken out by tornadoes last Monday," McManus said. "We're still assessing what needs to be repaired."
That means that if you try to see what info Tipton and Fort Cobb have to offer, you'll get a big "NA" right now ... although it does look like Fort Cobb was temporarily back. Check it out
here.
What exactly is the Oklahoma Mesonet? In a nutshell, it's your best friend if you want to know what any part of the state's weather is like at any given moment during any given day. Thanks to 120 sites across the state, including one in each county, every corner of Oklahoma is covered by the Oklahoma Mesonet.
Well, except for Tipton and Fort Cobb, I guess. But considering that the National Weather Service reported winds of 166 to 200 mph near Tipton during its EF4, it's kind of understandable ... or is it?
"The El Reno Mesonet site was brushed by the EF5 tornado in May, but not a direct hit," McManus said.
So it's the first-ever case of a Mesonet site getting taken out by the weather it is recording and the first-ever November EF4 tornado in Oklahoma on record. Speaking of, does this mean there really isn't a tornado season in Oklahoma anymore?
"There is a definite 'season' when the frequency of tornadoes is higher in Oklahoma (April-June), but Oklahomans should be prepared
for severe weather year-round," McManus said.
Although I am hesitant to write this because it might jinx us, I will anyway: Oklahoma has never had an EF4 or EF5 in December (records date back to 1950). Without solid proof like Tipton provided, we might still not have either in November, either.
"The way tornadoes are rated, if they don't hit solid structures, it's difficult to tell their exact strength," McManus said. "We were unfortunate enough that this one hit the OSU Agronomy Station that allowed a bump-up from EF2 to EF4."
Once again, here's the youtube video of the culprit of Tipton's station damage:
--Althea Peterson
PS: Check out the Oklahoma Mesonet at
tulsaworld.com/mesonet.
