This is what 0.5 of an inch of snow looks like. Snow covers a group of taxicabs near Sixth Street and Peoria Avenue in Tulsa on Jan. 12. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World File
When considering precipitation for records, there is snow, and then there's precipitation.
As explained in
this blog entry, precipitation is technically snow, but can also include rain, or hail or other things.
However, for record purposes, rainfall = precipitation, and snow = snow, separate from precipitation.
This is important when considering the rainfall/snowfall/precipitation for this month thus far, because you see, Tulsa has not recorded any rainfall so far this month... and yet they have record-wise, said Tulsa National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sellers. On Jan. 11, Tulsa received 0.5 of an inch of snow... and that apparently melted down into 0.02 of an inch of precipitation.
Thus, when considering this month for future records, January, if nothing else falls from the sky for the next 13 days, will go down as:
Rainfall: 0.02 of an inch
Snowfall: 0.5 of an inch
But, if it ever comes up again, Tulsa has not gotten any rain! Only snow!
And now, a look at how neither of these low totals will set any January records for Tulsa, but also how they line up with January's normals:
Temperature:Normal mean temperature: 37.7
Through Jan. 17: 43.8
Warmest January: 48.4 (2006)
Coldest January: 21.7 (1918)
Normal maximum temperature: 48
Hottest temperature through Jan. 17: 72 (Jan. 16)
Hottest ever: 82 (Jan. 28, 1909)
Normal minimum temperature: 27.5
Coldest temperature through Jan. 17: 20 (Jan. 13)
Coldest ever: Minus-16 (Jan. 22, 1930)
Rainfall:Normal rainfall: 1.66 inches
Through Jan. 17: 0.02 of an inch
Most rainfall: 6.74 inches (1916)
Least rainfall: None (1986)
Snowfall:Normal snowfall: 2.7 inches
Through Jan. 17: 0.5 of an inch
Most snowfall: 12.7 inches (1979)
Least snowfall: 0.0 inches (11 years, most recently in 1986)
--Althea Peterson
