December 2020 - General Weather Discussion

[Anonymous.]

Winter temperatures continue all week and get colder toward the back-end. Weak system comes through Wednesday into Thursday bringing small chance of some rain to snow. Right now it looks like nothing significant and the best chances for rain and snow is NE OK. Perhaps some accumulating wet snow Thursday morning in NC OK.

Weather remains quiet and average until about Dec 12 when the next storm comes through.

[Anonymous.]

Things in the models getting a little bit juicer as we near the event timing for Wednesday night. Models predicting a further south track of the low. Which in turn could result in a brief period of heavy wet snow across I-35 corridor and points west.

[BB37]

Winter storm warnings now up for W and NW OK, just outside the OKC/405 area.

[Bill Robertson]

I'm bad at attaching pictures but the 18z NAM 3Km has a somewhat smaller frozen precip area and the freezing line a little further west. I'm liking it better. Hopefully things will keep trending that way.

[Anonymous.]

Yep last two runs tonight have re-opened the low. Resulting in dryslot south with coldeest air further NW.

[Anonymous.]

Low is coming in completely unwrapped, so unless there is dramatic shift of the track - C OK will be mostly dry-slotted.

All short-range models agreeing on just about the same with far NW OK getting the snow, and N and NE getting the rain.

[Celebrator]

Would love a simplified explanation as to why central Oklahoma gets consistently dry-slotted with winter storms? Just curious.

[Bill Robertson]

Would love a simplified explanation as to why central Oklahoma gets consistently dry-slotted with winter storms? Just curious.

I would like to know what causes this also. Until then I'll just sit back and enjoy it when it happens.

[C_M_25]

I would like to know what causes this also. Until then I'll just sit back and enjoy it when it happens.

This is pretty simple. Think of these storms as rotating masses of air around a low pressure system that rotates counterclockwise. The leading edge (eastern side) of this storm pulls warm and moist air from the gulf. This air gets pulled around the northern and eventually wraps around the western side of the storm. It has a lot of moisture in it hence the precipitation associated with it. At the same time, dry cold air is being pulled from north to south around the west side of this storm. This air can get wrapped up in the low. This air has little moisture so you don’t get any precipitation. It just happens that the time and track of many of these storms set okc in the dry slot part of the storm.

[Bill Robertson]

This is pretty simple. Think of these storms as rotating masses of air around a low pressure system that rotates counterclockwise. The leading edge (eastern side) of this storm pulls warm and moist air from the gulf. This air gets pulled around the northern and eventually wraps around the western side of the storm. It has a lot of moisture in it hence the precipitation associated with it. At the same time, dry cold air is being pulled from north to south around the west side of this storm. This air can get wrapped up in the low. This air has little moisture so you don’t get any precipitation. It just happens that the time and track of many of these storms set okc in the dry slot part of the storm.

I get all that. But what makes the storms form and or break up over OKC vs Tulsa or Amarillo or ?. Because it seems to be right over central OK more often than not. I've always assumed it has something to do with our position between the Rockies and the gulf and the effect those two have on system tracking.

[C_M_25]

I get all that. But what makes the storms form and or break up over OKC vs Tulsa or Amarillo or ?. Because it seems to be right over central OK more often than not. I've always assumed it has something to do with our position between the Rockies and the gulf and the effect those two have on system tracking.

We’re just in that sweet spot where unstable air gets pushed in via the jet stream and it mixes with that warm moist air from the gulf. I imagine everything sets up perfectly for all this stuff to mix right over Oklahoma. It’s interesting too when you look at our annual rainfall. There is almost a straight line through the middle of the state that runs right through okc where there is little rainfall west and lots of rainfall East. It really is a sweet spot of sorts.

I find it interesting how our severe weather line has shifted further East in recent years. Curious if this is the signs of a changing climate? Hope that rainfall line doesn’t push further East with time.

[SEMIweather]

Harper County in the far NW corner of the state is going to end up with some pretty silly snowfall totals from this storm. Laverne and Buffalo were already at 13" and counting as of 6:00. Someone out there could easily end up with a storm total of 15-20".

[Plutonic Panda]

Some speculate the 100th meridian line is pushing slightly east. OKC is in a very interesting and unique spot allowing signs of the desert west starting to show in the western metro yet the timber forests in the eastern metro are present.

Selfishly, I don’t have as a much of a problem with parts of Oklahoma being subject to desertification as I love the desert. I also love plants and trees as well.

https://www.earthmagazine.org/articl...100th-meridian

[BG918]

Some speculate the 100th meridian line is pushing slightly east. OKC is in a very interesting and unique spot allowing signs of the desert west starting to show in the western metro yet the timber forests in the eastern metro are present.

Selfishly, I don’t have as a much of a problem with parts of Oklahoma being subject to desertification as I love the desert. I also love plants and trees as well.

https://www.earthmagazine.org/articl...100th-meridian

Yes but this isn’t the scenic Arizona desert with cactus and palms, this is the High Plains desert. Think Amarillo, Midland, Dodge City, etc.

The 100th Meridian has historically been the dividing line between the humid subtropical east and the dry west. That line has been shifting toward the 98th Meridian which runs through both OKC and Dallas/Ft Worth.

[Plutonic Panda]

I had always thought OKC was considered to be in the 99th meridian by now.

The closer the desert SW is the more the merrier LOL. I don’t mind the high plains desert but I do prefer the low desert over high desert given the flora that exists there.

[BG918]

I had always thought OKC was considered to be in the 99th meridian by now.

The closer the desert SW is the more the merrier LOL. I don’t mind the high plains desert but I do prefer the low desert over high desert given the flora that exists there.

Generally speaking you can grow palm trees in zones 8-10 which most of the southwest desert falls into. Most of Oklahoma is zone 7 with the exception of the southern parts along the Red River and swampy areas near Idabel (also the only part of OK where you can find alligators). Parts of northwest OK and the Panhandle are in zone 6.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah I always get jealous when I see a nice palm tree in Dallas. Speaking of the complete opposite I’m going to try and plant an Aspen Tree in Edmond and see if I can get it to grow. It might be too hot here but we’ll see. I’ve talked to some people who have said they’ve had luck and others not so much.

[SEMIweather]

The last 30 years in OKC have actually had about 3" of additional precipitation on average compared to the previous 30 years. It will definitely be interesting to see how our precipitation trends evolve in the coming years as the climate continues to heat up, as we really are right on that dividing line between the Western U.S. which is trending drier and the Eastern U.S. which is trending wetter.

[Bellaboo]

Yeah I always get jealous when I see a nice palm tree in Dallas. Speaking of the complete opposite I’m going to try and plant an Aspen Tree in Edmond and see if I can get it to grow. It might be too hot here but we’ll see. I’ve talked to some people who have said they’ve had luck and others not so much.

I believe Aspen's grow in higher elevations in Colorado. So it could be a cold weather thing ?

[BG918]

Aspens will grow in Oklahoma but generally don’t like our hot summers.

[Bellaboo]

Aspens will grow in Oklahoma but generally don’t like our hot summers.

Yep, that correlates, elevation above 8,000 feet means cool weather. At least compared to Oklahoma summers.

[Anonymous.]

I would love if Palm Trees could live here, they are my favorite.

Great weather continues this week until Thursday night a front moves through. Slight rain chances with that, but should mostly be contained to E OK. Weekend looks cool and cloudy.

[BG918]

I would love if Palm Trees could live here, they are my favorite.

Some cold-hardy species can live and even thrive in our zone like Sabal palmettos. You can see variations of these growing at the OKC Zoo and at the Gathering Place in Tulsa. You can find some native palms growing in the far southeast Oklahoma counties.

[Anonymous.]

Rain chances come in after midnight tonight. Like mentioned already, best shot for anything decent is eastern OK. Small clipper type system comes through Sunday and with cold air already in place, potential for some snow depending on exact track. At this time, it does not appear significant, but will watch it.

[BoulderSooner]

as always thank you