EDMOND —
For folks who are concerned about the present lack of beneficial precipitation, the local 7-day forecast doesn’t offer much hope, but it does include the season’s first chance of snow.
At 2:53 p.m. Wednesday, the temperature was 64 degrees and skies over the Edmond area were fair, according to the National Weather Service. However, humidity was low, at 18 percent, and there was no chance of rain through Saturday night.
Area fires, stoked by dry vegetation, low humidity and brisk winds, have kept local firefighters busy on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Sunday, there will be a 20 percent chance of rain with a high near 50, as cooling air moves over Oklahoma. Sunday night there will be a 20 percent chance of rain and snow with a low around 27.
On Monday, skies will be mostly sunny with a high near 40, leading to partly cloudy skies Monday night with a low around 27.
Tuesday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 47.
After abating somewhat earlier in the fall, drought conditions in the Great Plains, including Oklahoma, are intensifying, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The two highest levels of intensity — extreme to exceptional drought — exist in much of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Only tiny portions of Oklahoma are experiencing less severe drought.
In Oklahoma, drought surged during November with a return to the dry, warm and windy weather pattern the Sooner State has become accustomed to during recent years, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.
Through Nov. 28, the statewide average temperature stood at 52.4 degrees, about 3.4 degrees above normal, according to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet.
That would rank November 2012 as the 12th warmest since 1895, pending how the month ended, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. November was set to become the 26th month out of the last 32 to finish warmer than normal, dating back to April 2010.
Oklahoma’s 2012 January to November average temperature remained about two-tenths of a degree ahead of 1954 in a race to break the record for warmest calendar year.
Regarding the future, the Climate Prediction Center’s U.S. seasonal drought outlook, valid for Nov. 15 through Feb. 28, calls for conditions to persist or intensify in the plains states, including Oklahoma, and much of the Rocky Mountain region. Those states include Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108
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MARK SCHLACHTENHAUFEN | THE EDMOND SUN A recent sunset colors the sky above Edmond. Oklahoma weather provides many such sights, but currently lacks needed rainfall.
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Forecast includes 1st chance of snow for Edmond
- Local News
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EF-5 tornado called 'worst in history'
President Barack Obama pledged the federal government’s full support for disaster relief in what is being called one of the most devastating tornadoes in history. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed a team to the state.
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Edmond detective describes tornado devastation
Like other Oklahomans, Edmond Police Detective Marion Cain was keeping an eye on the weather Monday.
The storm, which produced the tornado began at 2:45 p.m., about 4.4 miles west of Newcastle and its 20-mile long path went through Newcastle, Moore and south Oklahoma City. About 10 minutes after it formed, it was already causing EF4 damage. Maximum winds of the tornado, upgraded to an EF5, were 200-210 mph, according to information released at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday by the National Weather Service. Its estimated maximum width was 1.3 miles. -
UPDATE: How to donate, find drop-off locations for relief supplies
Below is a listing of where donations may be taken in the Edmond area to help the Moore/Oklahoma tornado victims:
• The Edmond Sun is serving as a drop-off location for the downtown Edmond area. Supplies only may be dropped off at 123 S. Broadway and residents may use the backdoor to enter the building. Parking is available behind the building at the Festival Market Place. From 5-10 p.m. donations may be taken to Café Evoke, 103 S. Broadway.
• Edmond North High School is serving as a drop-off location for bottled water through today
• Memorial High School is serving as a drop-off location for food through today.
• Santa Fe High School is serving as a drop-off location for supplies such as work gloves, tools, etc. through today. -
Edmond high schools aid Moore, OKC tornado victims
Sometimes good things come from texting.
Monday afternoon, Sydney Richardson, who will be Santa Fe’s student body president next year, was driving home and it was raining. Once home, she talked to her mother, who told her about the tornado in Moore. Then she began seeing the damage on TV.
“It was devastating,” Richardson said. “We watched it all night long. I just felt like we needed to do something immediately.” -
City schedules debris collection for May 28
The City of Edmond’s Field Services Division of Public Works will be collecting storm-related debris from the May 19 tornado in accordance with the City of Edmond’s Emergency Operation Plan’s Level Two Response.
Affected areas where debris pick up will occur include in the area beginning one-half mile south of 15th Street to 33rd Street and from Boulevard Avenue east to I-35; and the Territories and Timberlake additions. Please see the map for clarification. Pick up is available for residential homes located within the designated boundaries.
Tree debris must be cut into no more than 6-foot sections and must be placed by the curb of the residence no later than 8 a.m. May 28. Crews will begin collection on Tuesday and continue until they have covered the area. -
Storm shelter inquiries up; customers take a number
After the horrific tornado set down in Moore Monday afternoon, storm shelter inquiries hit new highs.
Tuesday Ashley Cunningham, office manager for Red Dirt Septic on Waterloo Road in Edmond, and Mark Webb, owner of the Armor Vault Tornado Shelter in Oklahoma City, said their phones have been ringing consistently starting Monday afternoon. -
Insurers respond to Moore disaster
Insurers, like other agencies related to the Moore tornado disaster, are assessing the damage.
The Oklahoma Insurance Department has made an emergency declaration, allowing out-of-state adjusters to work storm damaged areas, said agency spokeswoman Calley Herth. It’s too soon to have tabulated damage estimates, Herth said.
“We are working hard to collect any and all numbers, but it’s just too soon at this moment,” she said. -
AG issues charity fraud and schemes alert
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt Tuesday issued a warning for Oklahomans and donors around the country to beware of charity fraud and scams following the severe storms in Oklahoma.
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VIDEO: Pres. Obama's remarks on the Okla. tornado
President Obama speaks on Monday's deadly Okla. tornado.
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Photos: Aftermath of massive tornado in Moore
Storm victims were pulled from the rubble and residents began surveying the damage late Monday and early Tuesday in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, where a powerful tornado destroyed entire neighborhoods and left dozens dead.
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