April 2023 - General Weather Discussion

[Bill Robertson]

Haha.... So true. Where is the wind on those impossibly hot days?

It's like our weather was specifically designed where one very uncomfortable element is always active without anything to counterbalance it.

Really!

[Pete]

I also moved to OK from CA and every time I go back for a visit, I seriously consider moving back there for the weather alone. I just get very grumpy when the weather makes it difficult to spend any extended amount of time outdoors--and that's a lot in OK. The problem for me is that the type of houses I'd like to live in cost $11 million out there (though, despite the common view of the price of housing in CA, you can get some VERY nice places for substantially less than that). Maybe I'll win the lottery.

I ended up leaving the beach (Manhattan Beach and Malibu) so I could buy a home and ended up in Thousand Oaks.

I literally cried when I made the move... But after a while you couldn't have blasted me out of there. Beach was only 15-20 minutes away and I had an actual home with a yard and could get a dog. I lived right next to Cal Lutheran University and all around was protected open space where I could walk over, let my dogs off the leash (I ended up with three big Labradors) and we could hike for miles without coming across anyone.

I loved it there for 13 years which is about as long as I'd ever want to be in one place. I've never regretted my move back, apart from the inevitable gripes about the weather. My family is here, my sisters and I are all aging and I'm very grateful I didn't wait much longer because I was able to spend several really good years close to my sister before I lost her to Covid.

My biggest mistake was buying a house without a pool, then realizing later there are easements in my pool-sized backyard. I grew up with a swimming pool and spent my college summers lifeguarding, then lived near the beach or in the case of T.O., had a massive swim complex (at Cal Lu) right down the street. I've literally been a life-long swimmer. I've got to fix my present pool-less situation as it would go a long way toward getting over my hatred of Oklahoma summers.

[KTB]

The wind... That's the worst part. Always blowing unless you need it to blow.

This! I can handle the temperature extremes, but the wind almost never stops. If I ever leave Oklahoma, it'll be because of the weather.

[SEMIweather]

I will post a brief defense of the things that I enjoy about Oklahoma weather...

1) Having 4-6 days (on average) each December, January, and February where the high temperature reaches above 65 degrees is pretty great. Plus, we are fortunate (IMO) to have a notable decrease in precipitation amounts and frequency during the winter, while a large portion of the country experiences the opposite effect which can make the winter months incredible dreary. Growing up in Michigan (and still going back to visit family there fairly often around Thanksgiving and Christmas), I can attest that in the Great Lakes states, you're lucky to have more than two sunny days per week in the winter. Whereas in Oklahoma, it's fairly uncommon to have more than three cloudy days in a row.
2) Conversely, even in the heart of the July/August heat, we can usually count on 2-3 days of relief per month where high temperatures don't reach above 85 degrees. Granted, these days are often difficult to forecast in advance due to being fairly dependent on the chaotic nature of thunderstorm complexes rolling in from the High Plains, but they do happen, and they are certainly something that I feel we're fortunate to have, given that nearby cities such as Dallas and Austin can easily go an entire month without a reprieve from 90+ degree heat.
3) There's also a correlation here between higher temperatures and lower dew points as our occasional 100+ degree heat is largely caused by downslope winds bringing in airmasses from the Desert SW. I often find that the 100/60 T/TD days here are slightly more bearable than the more common 90/70 T/TD days where we are just soaking in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
4) The late September through late October weather here is often fantastic. Lows in the lower-mid 50's and highs in the mid-upper 70's with low humidity are common.
5) The gradual temperature rebounds following April and May cold fronts can be pretty great as well. We'll actually have a classic example of this over the next week.
6) The evening thunderstorms here are absolutely brilliant. There's something so comforting about seeing the sky come alive just after sunset, and you can almost always count on it happening at least a couple times per month between March and October.

[Pete]

^

If you love variety and extremes, there is no better place to be.


And to counter my diatribe I wanted to add some perspective on California weather. For 10 months out of the year it doesn't rain. At all. And you'd better hope you get some in those other two months, although sometimes that doesn't happen either. I heard thunder maybe 3-4 times in 25 years.

On planet Earth, water = life. And the lack of it is not just hard on your lawn but also animals and plants and irrigation and everything else. A lack of rainfall is an incredibly depressing thing. Something I took for granted and now that I'm back, I love every single drop that falls.

I remember one particularly bad summer when everything was brown and dead and there were severe restrictions on watering anything. The rabbits would come into my neighborhood looking for anything green to eat. The coyotes soon followed the rabbits, equally hungry. I'd see very skinny coyotes walking through my front yard in broad daylight, just a small indication of how much suffering was happening all around.

Also, believe it or not, nonstop sunshine can be depressing too. I remember going months without even seeing a cloud and the monotony of it all can take its toll. Not nearly as bad as the eternal slate-gray winter skies of the upper Midwest, but it did weigh on me.


I love Oklahoma, no matter the weather.

[Bunty]

Interesting that the dry line has been retreating this evening almost to the far western counties where humidity is down to 4%. Anyway, if this system turns out bone dry, I'd rather take than tornadoes.

[SEMIweather]

Interesting that the dry line has been retreating this evening almost to the far western counties where humidity is down to 4%. Anyway, if this system turns out bone dry, I'd rather take than tornadoes.

It's getting to the point where I am kind of expecting a brief round of storms across the Metro in a few hours. We'll see. (Not that I'm going to stay up for it.)

[Celebrator]

I really think the"difficult" weather plays a part in the character of people --it toughens people up and also makes them resilient, I find. I am SoCal born and raised (Glendale) and also had 7 years in Central Florida just before coming here in '09. Yes, the weather is hard here, but it actually humbles folks a bit, keeping them nicer than other people (especially all up and down the west coast) who are obsessed with the weather being perfect to the point of being inflexible and whiny--it's insufferable in the Pacific Northwest when I tell them where I'm from.

We saw how weather affected people's attitudes in Florida, too. People moved there from the northeast JUST for the weather, and then found out that life is more than weather and were incredibly unhappy people and unpleasant to deal with. Saw it all the time. You might not have to shovel anymore, but you DO still have a workaday life--it isn't vacation time just because you're in Florida (unless you're retired).

People here wear their weather toughness as a point of pride, which I think is cool and unique and in some cases after a catastrophe, admirable. it is our common challenge/obstacle that actually bonds us all together. We share inside jokes about weather, we're some of the most weather-literate people in the States, and we come to each other's aid like no where else--forging and sharing the Oklahoma Standard. It's part of our state's character and makes us rugged and resolute.

[Bunty]

Finally a line of storms have developed in north central Oklahoma.

[BG918]

Well this storm was a bust..

[Bunty]

Right, just .03" of rain came here early Wed. morning, but still, I would rather go through a weak storm that doesn't rain much, rather than a bad one that comes with a tornado. BIG hail that makes roofers come soon knocking at your door isn't welcomed, either! I wished I asked those roofers how they knew a big hailstorm had just happened because some of them were from out of town!

I doubt the drought in the NW half of Oklahoma will ever be broken until the storms start training as they did in much of the SE half.

[Bunty]

A definitely stronger than usual earthquake felt in central Oklahoma early Thursday morning, possibly not this strong since June of 2020. Probably strong enough to bring flashbacks back to Californians new to Oklahoma.

I wonder if the Oklahoma Corporation Commission needs to shut down oil drilling operations in Lincoln County. A 3.2 pre-quake happened at the same place on Tuesday.

[BG918]

Right, just .03" of rain came here early Wed. morning, but still, I would rather go through a weak storm that doesn't rain much, rather than a bad one that comes with a tornado. BIG hail that makes roofers come soon knocking at your door isn't welcomed, either! I wished I asked those roofers how they knew a big hailstorm had just happened because some of them were from out of town!

I doubt the drought in the NW half of Oklahoma will ever be broken until the storms start training as they did in much of the SE half.

That's what happened in late May through mid-June last year after a somewhat-drier spring in western/central OK. Then of course the spigot turned off and summer 2022 was one of the hottest and driest on record.

[Pete]

Although we need rain, after my recent griping about our weather I feel compelled to point out that this week's temps look to be stellar: warm and sunny days and cool nights.

[C_M_25]

Guys, I miss thunderstorms. I’m ready to sit out on the back patio and watch the storms roll in from the west. Give me some nice Thunder and heavy rains to put me to sleep.

I don’t miss thunderstorms that try to kill us and destroy our property but I do miss the less intense thunderstorms. I know they’ll come but I’m getting antsy.

[SEMIweather]

Maybe a small chance of storms from Sunday Evening into Monday. Very unlikely to be anything significant.

[Bunty]

[SEMIweather]

Appears we will most likely transition to a SW flow pattern sometime around next weekend, which will likely be accompanied by increasing chances for storms. Precipitation chances also continue to increase somewhat for the Sunday Night/Monday timeframe, although amounts still look to be low and severe weather chances remain very low to nonexistent.

[Anonymous.]

It will be interesting to see what SPC puts on the 4-8 day outlook in a few days. The storm coming through next weekend may have some potential.

[SEMIweather]

Decent chance of storms tonight, right around sunset. Storms should fire to the north of the Metro and then move SSW into the area (weird storm motion). Marginally severe hail and winds are possible. Looking towards the weekend, it appears that system is going to move through in a much more progressive manner than previously anticipated, so not expecting much precipitation unfortunately. Friday evening would be the best chance as of right now.

[C_M_25]

GFS is showing very limited rain chances up until the end of the month where it hints at things picking up a bit.

Drought begets drought and it’s going to take a serious storm with a ton of moisture to work with to put a dent in this drought. Might be a rough summer.

[Anonymous.]

^Yes. The drought across W OK and KS is really taking complete control over the region.

Here is the storms SEMIweather mentioned above. Consider yourself lucky if you are under one this afternoon.

[Anonymous.]

SPC has upgraded a sliver of I-44 corridor to Slight Risk for a hail threat later this afternoon.

[SEMIweather]

Forecast largely remains on track. Storms currently up around Enid and Ponca City should move through the Metro between roughly 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. this evening. Marginally severe hail and winds will be possible. This likely won’t coalesce into a solid line of storms, but I think that a majority of areas will receive measurable precipitation. Maybe up to 0.75” in the heaviest storms for a few fortunate spots.

[C_M_25]

I’m telling ya, this is a really strange spring so far. North to south moving storms…in mid-April. Craziness