NEBRASKA SNOWS AND OKLAHOMA'S WOES
By Mark Shafer
Climatologist
The Oklahoma Climatological Survey
2/16/2004

NORMAN - After the winter season started out on such a balmy note, Oklahoma's
fortunes have sure changed. December and January, each 3 degrees or more above
normal for the state, have yielded to a consistent cold pattern in February.
Part of the explanation is snow cover. While the recent snows in Oklahoma have
melted away, locations further to our north have some of the greatest snow
depths for this time of year on record.

So how can snow cover in Nebraska affect temperatures in Oklahoma? Snow acts
like a layer of insulation, keeping the warmth of the ground from heating air
near the surface. Consequently, air that starts out in the polar region gets
very little heat added to it on its southward journey. Even the typically warm,
southerly winds contribute to February's cold. The southerly winds bring moisture
across the region, which falls in the form of - yes, more snow - in Kansas,
Nebraska and northern Oklahoma.

February 2004 is shaping up to be one of the coldest in the past century.
The statewide-averaged temperature through the first half of the month stands
at 32.4 degrees - nearly seven degrees colder than January. If the cold continues
for the duration of the month - not by any means likely - February 2004 would
end up among the ten coldest for the state since 1892. However, this is a long
way from some of the record-cold Februaries of the past. With the exception
of a few places, like north-central Oklahoma that have had substantial snow
cover for a few nights, overnight low temperatures have not been near records.
In fact, the state's record cold temperature, -27 degrees at Vinita, occurred
on February 13, 1905. Even the high temperatures holding to the 20s are no
match for some of the years gone by.

The good news is this can't last much longer. As the days get longer and more
sunshine fills the skies, the sun's heat will begin to melt this layer of snow.