June 2021 - General Weather Discussion

[SEMIweather]

Things seem to be trending downwards fairly quickly. Would guesstimate that the OKC area probably has a 50/50 shot at a decent rain event with this, higher probabilities the farther north you go, of course. Severe threat will be very isolated IMO, more likely it’ll be 40-50 mph outflow wind gusts ahead of the line, similar to what happened on May 27th.

[kukblue1]

Oklahoma City now added to the severe thunderstorm watch, according to TV channel 5. Only channel 5 is covering the storms non stop as of 11:30 pm.

No other place in the world would be non stop for slightly severe thunderstorm. I love the OKC weather market. Did the metro even go under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. NO. SMH

[Bunty]

Following the passage of a strong thunderstorm that arrived weakened, the air over Stillwater quite dramatically collapsed early Saturday morning, leading to strong, steady winds, bringing about a much warmer temperature along with much lower humidity down to 30% as images show below.
Temperature started out at 68 at 12:49 am and peaked at 87 at 3:09 am. The initial surge in temperature started around 1:44 am when wind switched from NW to ESE gusting to 31 mph. It was a remarkable weather phenomenon, a heat burst, not very commonly seen. Storm only brought around a third of an inch of rain.








Emily Sutton explains it as a heat burst from her video made several years ago.

[Anonymous.]

Couple towers trying to get going across C OK right now. Main threat would be hail and flash flooding. Enjoy the cooledown if you get under one.

[Pete]

I know I gripe about Oklahoma weather but after 25 years in California, I just can't get enough of the relatively plentiful rain.

When they say (or sing) it never rains in California, they aren't kidding. The rainfall you do get is all in couple of winter months and sometimes even then it's sparse. It sounds silly I know, but the endless, unrelenting sunshine was depressing in its own way. You could go months without hardly seeing a cloud.

Not only does that make everything brown and dead (and if you want to keep any sort of lawn, your water bill will leave you breathless) but it's so incredibly hard on the wildlife. Every living thing gets desperate and aggressive. I had coyotes walk across my yard in the middle of the day because the rabbits had come into the neighborhood as it was the only place there was anything green to eat. Similarly, hawks, owls and other predators would snatch cats and even small dogs from backyards.

I have 30+ mature trees in my yard here that are beautifully green, and I look out onto a beautiful green park. And I keep thinking I need to install an irrigation system in the front, but my yard looks awesome without it. And more than anything, I love seeing all the wildlife (the area surrounding me is a bit untamed) pass through my backyard without a pack of some other critters trying to rip it apart.

Hard to describe all this, but it makes me very happy to see all the animals and know they have plenty to eat and drink.


Also, there is simply nothing better than a storm passing through on a hot day where the temp suddenly drops and you get a good soaking before returning to the dog days.

[Plutonic Panda]

I do enjoy the changing seasons which isn’t nearly as dramatic in SoCal. I also love thunderstorms. If I’m away from Oklahoma for awhile and I take a trip to the valley or big bear where you can get summertime thunderstorms on occasion, I’ll get in my feelings about Oklahoma and miss it.

[Pete]

One of the most amazing things about California weather was how much temperatures would vary in just a short distance.

For a while I worked in Woodland Hills (in the San Fernando Valley and one of the hottest places not only in the valley but also in SoCal) and lived in Malibu, where it never got over 80 degrees.

I'd leave work around 6 and it would be 100+, drive through the canyon, and there was a spot where the cool ocean air kicked in and I would watch my car thermostat dive as much as 30 degrees within a mile. And if it was foggy on the coast, the drop would be even bigger.

And the opposite was true as well. I'd leave Malibu on winter mornings and it would be in the 60's and then hit the valley air on a particularly clear and chilly day and the temp would be very near freezing; would often see frost in the lower parts of the canyon.

I would also ride my bike some mornings through the canyon and there could be parts where you were freezing your tail off, then had to go up an incline into warmer air and have sweat rolling down your face.


Due to the moderating effect of the ocean, the frequent fog that couldn't make it over the coastal range and all the mountains and valleys, there were many days would you could just go seek out the desired temp, from hot to cold.

[Plutonic Panda]

Other than Hawaii SoCal has the best weather in the world, IMO. You can go from the the high to the low desert, ski, go to a beach that sees daily temps almost in the 60-70s at the coolest,.

I remember the first time I encountered the marine layer fog I was riding my bike on Santa Monica boulevard near century city sweating my ass off. I then closed in on downtown Santa Monica and saw this blanket of fog the seemed to be evaporating as it tried to move more inland and had a steady front. As I went in it went from like 90 degrees or so to the lower 60s. It was amazing to me.

[Pete]

^

I lived up on the bluffs in Malibu and mainly in June (hence the term, June Gloom) I could sit and watch the fog roll in from miles away.

Having grown up in brutal Oklahoma summers, I never got tired of it. Lots of people at the beach burn fires in the summer.

[Plutonic Panda]

It was simply incredible to me how much the weather changed in less than a mile. Not sure why but I am just a blown away by the phenomenon than I am tornadoes.

I’m at Lake Shrine a lot and it’s way cooler there than just a few miles East on sunset.

[Anonymous.]

We will likely have a tropical system develop in the GOM this week. It will be named Bill.

This will affect OK's weather by placing us in the dry air zone NW of the low, which means hot temperatures. The recent moisture across the E 1/2 of OK will help cap the actual air temps in the 90s, but heat indexes will be 100-105F. Western OK and TX PH will be into the 100s by end of the week.

short-lived relief may be on the horizon with a break in temperatures over the weekend and again next week.

[C_M_25]

Folks, I got that feeling that we’ll be setting some heat records this summer. Going to be a brutal one.

[Jake]

I want the gray, rainy weather back.

[Pete]

I want the gray, rainy weather back.

No sh*t.

People die during this type of weather. I don't begin to understand anyone who wishes for it... And then sits inside in the a/c all day.

[Roger S]

No sh*t.

People die during this type of weather. I don't begin to understand anyone who wishes for it... And then sits inside in the a/c all day.

I don't understand those people either.... I don't even use the AC in my truck in this weather..... Walked to Lazy Donkey and Clarity Coffee for lunch today..... I had forgotten what it was like to get back to my office with a hot cup of espresso! ...... Plan on walking 9 holes tonight and will probably get the Trek out for a ride after that.... Now that it's not so humid I'll take this kind of weather, with just enough rain to keep the ponds/lakes at a decent level, all year!

[C_M_25]

Despite the heat, I still find myself outside more during the worst heat when compared to the coldest cold like we had this winter. I’ll take this over last winter any day, but that doesn’t change the fact that the heat of the day is a little brutal without a breeze.

[Pete]

^

All I know is I walk 4 miles every night (including last night), and I never, ever see people outside.

Nobody walking, nobody working in their yard. Just lots of closed windows with TV's glowing and a/c's spinning.

[SEMIweather]

I will take this week’s weather all day over the ridiculous humidity we had last week, but it’s still pretty brutal. We will get some short-lived relief Monday through Wednesday as a strong late-season cold front pushes through and drops highs into the 80’s with even lower humidity. Probably our last notable cold front until September. After next Wednesday, the ridge builds back in and we return to the 90’s.

This is not Oklahoma-related, as our drought situation is actually fairly good, but I just don’t see any way around another brutal wildfire season west of the Continental Divide. Looks like yet another summer with a dominant Western ridge resulting in above-normal temperatures/below-normal precipitation for that part of the country.

[Pete]

^

I'll bet you anything we see a pretty good drought this summer in Oklahoma.

We're lucky we got a little caught up in May and the first part of this month.

[SEMIweather]

^

All I know is I walk 4 miles every night (including last night), and I never, ever see people outside.

Nobody walking, nobody working in their yard. Just lots of closed windows with TV's glowing and a/c's spinning.

This city puts absolutely no effort into establishing any decent infrastructure for pedestrians. Only two neighborhoods I’m aware of that have a consistent sidewalk situation are Mesta Park and Heritage Hills. Combine that with the humidity in the summer and the consistent cold north winds in the winter, and it’s a disappointing but unsurprising outcome.

[SEMIweather]

^

I'll bet you anything we see a pretty good drought this summer in Oklahoma.

We're lucky we got a little caught up in May and the first part of this month.

Going to depend on just how dominant that Western ridge can become, IMO. If it’s strong enough, we could easily see a repeat of 2011/2012 here. Fortunately that’s not what’s currently being forecasted, but of course these pattern are very tough to predict more than 10 days or so in advance.

On the plus side, just over a month or so until our average temperatures start decreasing, lol.

[Pete]

This city puts absolutely no effort into establishing any decent infrastructure for pedestrians. Only two neighborhoods I’m aware of that have a consistent sidewalk situation are Mesta Park and Heritage Hills. Combine that with the humidity in the summer and the consistent cold north winds in the winter, and it’s a disappointing but unsurprising outcome.

It was the same during May and every other month this year.

I'm lucky that since my 'hood has an elementary school in the middle of it, we received a decent amount of new sidewalks. I choose to walk where they exist, which means even in my relatively sidewalk blessed area, I take very circuitous routes. And to cover any real distance, I still find myself walking in the street more than anyone should. It's a simple function of not dealing with a very small cost when streets and homes and businesses were built, versus spending millions and millions after the fact.

The culture in Oklahoma is not to get out and recreate and that is deeply embedded going back generations. Even the people serious about fitness usually go to an indoor gym. I want to be outside as much as I can. And the fact so few people do this is bad for our city in a million ways. We all stay disconnected or don't care that most of this town is hideously maintained. You don't notice or concern yourself with that sort of thing as you blow by in your car. It's shocking and deeply upsetting to see how things are when you are on foot.

[Roger S]

^

All I know is I walk 4 miles every night (including last night), and I never, ever see people outside.

Nobody walking, nobody working in their yard. Just lots of closed windows with TV's glowing and a/c's spinning.

We went and rode Stinchcombe last night and the parking lot only had 5 cars in it including ours where it had been tough to find parking before the extended rainy period we had.

Didn't drive by Overholser to see how busy it was but it was also a church night.

[Pete]

^

On the positive side, that's what I've grown to love about Scissortail Park. Always busy with people of all types. Will be even better when the Lower Park connects downtown to the river.

And as much as I love the Lake Hefner trails, it speaks volumes that until somewhat recently a nice lake in what was always the nicest part of OKC was nothing but weeds and mud. For decades. OKC is extremely late to the recreation game; at least there are now some outdoor options but it's going to take a very, very long time to get things where it should be and start to change the larger mentality.

You only realize all this when you live somewhere else.

[catcherinthewry]

This city puts absolutely no effort into establishing any decent infrastructure for pedestrians. Only two neighborhoods I’m aware of that have a consistent sidewalk situation are Mesta Park and Heritage Hills.

There are a lot of neighborhoods in SW OKC that have sidewalks. Green Valley, Kingsridge, Kings Park, Sky Ranch, Fairview and a lot of other neighborhoods that don't even have names have extensive sidewalk networks.