a little news for those who are having a colder, wetter summer than usual. be thankful you are. last winter here the ‘blizzard’ everyone refers to when a few feet of snow fell and snow packed the roads for a couple of weeks … if only it had been a blizzard, and the water tables had been raised some in preparation for the summer. other than that snowfall, it was a rather mild, dry winter here.
I am so glad we are leaving here. things have moved slower than I wanted, but still steadily on. we will be gone before the ragweed hits.
Heat Wave Continues As Oklahoma Death Toll Hits 15
Posted: Aug 06, 2011 10:58 AM CDT Updated: Aug 06, 2011 11:48 AM CDT
The temperature reached 109 degrees in Oklahoma City on Friday, shattering the old record by three degrees. [File Photo]
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — The number of heat-related deaths climbed to 15 so far this summer, and the brutal heat is suspected as a cause in 11 others, state officials said Friday.
A 65-year-old Hugo man and an 85-year-old Hartshorne man discovered this week are the latest confirmed casualties of the heat, said Cherokee Ballard, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office.
The heat also is suspected in the death of a 49-year-old homeless man discovered Wednesday in an Oklahoma City field and an 81-year-old woman found inside her Wewoka home that had no air conditioning, Ballard said.
The temperature reached 109 degrees in Oklahoma City on Friday, shattering the old record by three degrees. A record high of 111 degrees was reported in Tulsa, said Gary McManus with the Oklahoma
Climatological survey. Friday was the 43rd day so far this year with temperatures above 100 degrees.
Triple-digit heat is expected to continue over the weekend, but Oklahoma could see temperatures decrease sometime next week if a high-pressure ridge shifts to the west, said Ty Judd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman.
“There could be a pattern shift where the ridge overhead goes into the western part of the country, which could let a front move further south,” Judd said. “Next week we could actually see temperatures under 100.”
Much of this year’s excessive heat can be attributed to an unusually dry spring and lack of summer showers, Judd said.
“We really haven’t had meaningful rain in several months,” Judd said. “The ground is just basically baking.”
The western two-thirds of the state is locked in an exceptional drought — the worst condition recorded by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The entire state has reached at least severe drought conditions, the monitor reported this week.
The drought is taking its toll on agriculture production and prompting ranchers across the state to thin their cattle herds for fear of hay shortages during the winter.
“The sun ain’t ever been so close to the earth,” said Leritha Criss of Dallas, who was touring the Oklahoma City Bombing Museum and Memorial in downtown Oklahoma City.
In Norman, where the temperature climbed to 108 degrees, 24-year-old Steven Anderson tried to keep cool while hanging siding.
“It’s so hot, it’s hard to breath,” Anderson said. “Every time I take a breath, I feel the hot air. It’s unbearable.”