There was a little rain, but not much
There was a little rain, but not much Lynn Adams Tue, 10/11/2022 - 22:17
For those wondering what was falling from the sky Tuesday in Sallisaw, it was rain. Not much, but weather experts confirm that‚s what it was.
That‚s the good news. The bad news is that there was very little of it — 0.05” according to the Oklahoma Mesonet — just enough to remind Sequoyah Countians what they‚ve been missing.
While parts of the county may have received more or less of the wet stuff, the official weather monitoring station for the county is located two miles south-southwest of Sallisaw just east of the airport on South Cedar Street.
So that small amount of rain will do very little to impact the past four months that the Oklahoma Mesonet has called the driest since the Dust Bowl.
The scant amount of precipitation was the most rain received since Sept. 1 — 41 consecutive days since Sallisaw registered more than 0.05” of rain. Overall, it‚s been 83 days since Sequoyah County has received more than 0.25” of rain. The only reason it‚s not longer is the July 21 cloudburst that dumped 5.92” of rain on most of the county. Since then, however, there have been only five days when the Oklahoma Mesonet has recorded at least a quarter inch of rain, and two of those just barely met the threshold.
September finished with just 0.75” of rainfall, with 0.73” of that total coming on Sept. 1. September‚s rain total was the lowest of any month this year, and the lowest for any month in the past five years. The last time Sallisaw had less rain was November 2017 when 0.25” was recorded, and September 2017 with a scant 0.17”. In the past two months, a period in which the normal rainfall for Sequoyah County is 8.24”, the Sallisaw rain gauge is down almost 5.75”, having received 1.76” in August and 0.75” in September. Sallisaw has received 12” less rain in 2022 than it did in 2021.
KFSM-TV chief meteorologist Matt Standridge is forecasting a slight chance of rain for the area this week, but he warns, “This rain won‚t bust the drought, but a quick sip of water is better than nothing.”
Tuesday‚s rain was welcome, but was still even less than a sip.
