Rainy pattern in Texas

[Tim Vasquez]

Here at my house in Palestine TX we have had 23 rain days out of 30 so far this month! Having lived here and there around Texas I've never seen anything like it. The southward-moving early morning squall line was also somewhat unprecedented... I can't ever recall waking up and seeing something like that steamrolling into north Texas at 9 am.

I haven't yet totalled up all the precipitation but I'm estimating it's been around 10-15 inches for the month. At least this has got to be good for the reservoirs as well as the soil moisture going into summer.

How's it been where you are?

Tim

 

[Billy Griffin]

I brought it back with me from Seattle, Tim! ;-)
However, the job will require me to be back there (Seattle) come mid-June most of the time, so better enjoy it while it lasts. I'll have to take it back with me so Rainier's glaciers won't melt away!

Seriously though - I've been here since '91 and really don't recall an extended wet period of this significance like this one. It's sure nice to see all the ponds full, all the green - it's very nice.

Norman, OK is always a challenge when it comes to flooding, but I saw something that was really funny a week or two ago - and captured video of it (it's on my webpage under media clips). Carp were swimming across Franklin and Sooner Roads when the creek left its banks! Funniest think I'd seen since the salmon swimming down the streets of downtown Orting, WA back during the November floods there.

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Just found an interesting map of totals for the month... just click to enlarge.




Looks like Norman might be breaking its drought finally.

Tim

 

[Terry Tyler]

weve been getting left out of the rain here, tim...its been a boring dry pattern for the past 2 weeks with smoke and haze and high temperatures...there is also a pretty severe drought in the area...

people in seattle say its depressing when it rains all the time...but personally, i get depressed when there is no rain all the time...

 

[Rob Satkus]

Here at my house in Palestine TX we have had 23 rain days out of 30 so far this month! Having lived here and there around Texas I've never seen anything like it. The southward-moving early morning squall line was also somewhat unprecedented... I can't ever recall waking up and seeing something like that steamrolling into north Texas at 9 am.

I haven't yet totalled up all the precipitation but I'm estimating it's been around 10-15 inches for the month. At least this has got to be good for the reservoirs as well as the soil moisture going into summer.

How's it been where you are?

Tim

Well, the map you posted fits in really well with what I have measured here in south Norman...over 11" for the month. If it rains again today or tomorrow, my all time record (unofficial, just what I have measured here at the house) of 12.11" set in September of 1991 may be broken. Right now Lake Thunderbird is as high as I have seen it in over 15 years...and just a few months ago it was as low as I have ever seen it. Sure makes it a pain to get the lawn mowed..I have lost the dog in the backyard a few times now thanks to the tall grass.

Rob

 

[Doug Lee]

Sure makes it a pain to get the lawn mowed..I have lost the dog in the backyard a few times now thanks to the tall grass.

I found a turtle in my backyard while mowing over a week ago. It's a good thing I found him before the mower did!

 

[jladue]

Tim, We've measured 11.78" so far for the month on the west end of Lake Thunderbird. See the COCORAHS site and enter in the dates here.
http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/TotalPrecipSummary.aspx

The lake is high, however there've been some times in the late 90's where it was 4' above normal. What's really amazing was that at the end of March it was 9' below normal and it's risen 10' since. In one day in early May, the lake took in a few billion gallons! Now there's large snags floating about all over the lake courtesy of the massive inflow.

Keep it coming!

 

[Rob Satkus]

I found a turtle in my backyard while mowing over a week ago. It's a good thing I found him before the mower did!

Unfortunately, I took out two rather large toads this evening.

RS

 

[Robert Rohloff]

Tim, Same up here in Tulsa we are over 4 inches above for the month and I think 8-10 for the year. We had a lake NW of town, Skiatook Lake which was down -12 feet, and with a couple of the storms at the first of the month is now above normal......our drought was broken for a while.

 

[Paul Townsend]

Dry, just like every warm season in the new millenium. 1.89" in May, pending a decent shot at a good rain on the 31st. Only 1 Spring+Summer (Mar-Aug) has been above the average for my period of record (1984 - 2006), in the new millenium. None of the Summer seasons have been above average in the 2000's. Had the driest Summer last year, the driest Spring in 2005, and almost the driest Fall in 2004.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I thought I heard Omaha was an inch off the record for May at this point. It seems to have been pretty wet all spring before this. The bad thing about the rain......the mosquitoes have returned with a vengence. I am already dreading the summer chases up in the Dakotas.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Mosquitos are out in full force in Grand Forks.

 

[Jay McCoy]

I question that map some. especially in the Texas panhandle. We have had storms rolling out of New Mexico and dumping rain in the western part of the panhandle for 2 weeks now not to mention last weeks storms on 5-23-07 that dropped so much rain in the eastern part of the panhandle that some roads are still closed and Ochiltree county has been under a flood warning for a week. I can see where much of the rest of the state has been getting pounded but I think they have underestimated the panhandle by quite a bit.

 

[Bob Schafer]

Albuquerque has recorded 4.58" of precip for 2007 to date, and that is 1.96" above normal. Not rain forest here! There was the big snowstorm in December, too. Still no mosquitoes here

 

[Michael O'Keeffe]

Here at my house in Kansas we are closing in on 7 inches for the month with a flash flood watch out for my area with the concern for 1 to 2 inches more tomorrow as we may expierence severe storms tomorrow. O Boy! it seems like this will never stop. This reminds me alot of an early August type of pattern. Flooding rains and daily thunderstorms, but not late May we should be seeing tornadoes.