Rainfall

Farmer Rain Gamble

What gambles do farmers take? They gamble on when and how much it will rain. They play the odds. If I put down some fertilizer, will it rain enough to move it into the soil? Will rain fall in time for my planted seed to come up? Will the next forecasted rain be enough to incorporate this herbicide?

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Photos: Left, headed wheat east of Chickasha 04/25/18 (A. Sutherland). Right, headed wheat north of Duke 04/27/18 (K. Johnson).

The rain gamble is different for every farmer, for every crop. As we finished out 2017 in Oklahoma, rain was elusive. Continue reading →

Beaver 2017, Too Long Between Rains

Western Oklahoma’s latest rain was critical to the success of this year’s winter wheat and canola crops. It also brought much needed relief to fire fighters as it drenched areas where large, devastating fires occurred in early March. The rain came with storms on March 28-29, 2017.

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If we just looked at rainfall totals, we’d be hard pressed to believe that 2017 is dealing with “dry” year conditions. That’s because rainfall totals since January 1st fail to tell the story of real-world conditions. One has to drill down and scrutinize rainfall totals under the microscope of daily rainfall events and amounts. And the Oklahoma Mesonet has just the tool to do that, the Mesonet Long-Term Averages Graph maker.  Continue reading →

January 2017 Weather Roundup

January was a month of surprises! We froze from some of the coldest temperatures we’ve seen since 2011, then ended the month basking in spring-like, warm weather.

For January, the departure from Oklahoma Mesonet‘s 15-year average air temperatures ranged from 5 degrees above average in the Northeast and Southeast to 1 degree below average at Kenton in the Panhandle. The majority of winter wheat and canola fields were in areas that came in at 1-2 degrees above average.

2017-02-02.Jan 2017 Avg Air Temp Continue reading →

October Warm Temps and Lack of Rain

October followed a warm September with above average temperatures. Unfortunately, what was below average in October were our rainfall totals.

Looking back at October, our average air temperatures for the month were 4 to 7 degrees above average. Northern and central sections of the state, the yellow-orange areas, had the largest departure from the Oklahoma Mesonet Long-term 15-year average (2001-2015).

2016-11-04.Oct 2016.Air Temp Avg departure Continue reading →

A “GOOD” Rain

Pat turned to me and with excitement in his voice and declared, “That was a “GOOD” rain!” Pat raises cattle. He watches his cattle closely to make sure they have what they need to stay happy and healthy.

So what is a “good” rain? For ranchers, like Pat, it means a rain that is timely. The rain needs to fall often enough to keep the grass growing. No rain. No grass. That’s what we had in 2011.

Young girl in puddle on farm

Photo: Chris Peterson Continue reading →

Rain Forecast as Hourly Graph

A couple of common questions we all have are, “When is it going to rain?” and “How much rain will we get?”

There is a tool from the National Weather Service that can give insight into both of those questions. The product is the National Weather Service’s Hourly Weather Forecast Graph. The Hourly Weather Forecast Graph shows forecasts of the chance of rain, amounts over time, and when to expect rain.

2016-02-26.Ag Blog.No 01.Storm clouds

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Adding Assurance – Dual Rain Gauges

When rainfall data counts, it’s a shock to go to the Oklahoma Mesonet and find ‘NA,’ ‘Not Available.’ Just like you, all of us at the Mesonet hate missing data too. That is why we are so committed, from our field techs to our website wizards, to collect and confirm all the data we can from the Oklahoma Mesonet system. The Mesonet team works continually to make sure that quality assured data keeps flowing from Mesonet’s 120 sites, every five minutes, every day.

2015-12-22.No01.AgBlog.Mesonet Team

(Part of the Oklahoma Mesonet Team at the Ron Elliott Mesonet Site Dedication – 09/11/15)

Continue reading →

Best in Years!!! Soil Moisture April 2015

Oklahoma has been treated to above average rainfall this April. A Mesonet Rainfall Map  for last two weeks of April, shows how that rain fell across Oklahoma from April 15th to April 29th. Cheyenne had the highest rainfall, 8.85 inches. The lowest rainfall location was Kenton with 1.10 inches of rain. Map numbers are rainfall amounts collected at Oklahoma Mesonet sites.

2015 05 01.Ag Blog.No 01.rainrfc.336hr

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