Weather and Agriculture: A Plains Perspective
An Oklahoma Mesonet Project
About Albert Sutherland Intense, devastating fires flared up one week ago in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. This article is part one of a three part series. It covers the long-term conditions leading into this horrendous fire day. Part One covers weather factors in February that contributed to extremely dry conditions in Beaver, Harper, and Woodward Counties.
(Photo: Carmen Fire Department 3/7/17)
Has spring sprung? The calendar says NO! It’s February 21st. But what does the calendar know? Oklahoma’s plants and weather tell us that spring’s onset has begun. These iris are under a heavy mulch of leaves and in a low light area. That hasn’t slowed their emergence. Picture taken February 21, 2017 in Chickasha, OK.
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.
What did you think of 2016? Was it a hot year? A cooler than average year? Would you believe that the summer was close to average?
Where the heat really came in was the spring and fall. Those were the seasons that climbed way above average.
For the year, 2016 was slightly warmer than the long-term 15-year Oklahoma Mesonet average from 2001-2015. Putnam and Minco were the warmest locations at 3 degrees above their average air temperatures. Most of the eastern side of Oklahoma was 2 degrees above average. In the west, most Mesonet sites were 1 degree above average.
What a cold weekend we just went through! For Oklahoma, the cold air swept through the state on Saturday, December 17, 2016. The next two mornings, Sunday and Monday, were especially brutal for cattle.
Checking the Mesonet Cattle Comfort Advisor for Saturday, the maximum Cattle Comfort Index values ran from 82 degrees at Broken Bow in the southeast to zero at Boise City and Eva in the Panhandle.
Oklahoma’s weather roller coaster has opened for business. And on the farm, the cattle are feeling it. Warm, cold, warm, cold and how about a day of drizzle that turned to freezing rain with a biting wind (Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016).
Temperature weather variability has two sides. One side is the peak-to peak (amplitude) of the variability, how high or low temperatures go. The mornings of December 17th and 18th are going to be bitter cold with extreme lows. Continue reading
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).
Fog can put a real damper on travel and work plans. Fog slows you down and puts you at greater driving risk. On the farm, fog stops spraying, harvest, and planting. Fog is difficult to forecast. High moisture has to come together with low wind speeds over an extended period of time for radiation fog to set in. The Oklahoma Mesonet recorded those conditions on Thursday morning, October 27, 2016 across Central and Northeastern Oklahoma.
When the rain arrives, it comes with refreshing, rain-cooled air.
What we don’t give much thought to is the bonus of the cooling effect of rain on soil temperatures. Wednesday, October 5, 2016 gave us a good example of how rain cools the soil.
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.
Photo: Chris Peterson Continue reading
