Demographics and more weather...

The southwestern/central Oklahoma mecca of Chickasha has an elevation of 1146 feet above sea level and can be found at Latitude 35 05N and Longitude 097 58W. The county seat of Grady County, OK, Chickasha has just less than 17,000 residents, an annual per capita income of a bit over $26,000, is 80% white folks, 8% black and 7% American Indian. Almost ten percent of the of the population counts itself of German descent. Nine percent are of Irish heritage and seven percent of English ancestry. A full 17 percent of the residents of Chickasha, OK, consider themselves indigenous peoples.

They may or may not understand what that means. While 77 percent of Chickasha residents have a high school diploma and 17 percent have a college degree, the number of unemployed is ten percent less than the number of residents holding a graduate or professional degree. The average assessed value of a home in Chickasha is $50,000. Only 51 percent of Chickasha residents are married. Twenty-four percent have never walked down the aisle and almost 13 percent are divorced.

Although Chickasha had only seven murders in the first five years of the new century, it ranks seriously above most comparably sized cities/towns in overall violent crime.

Interesting statistics, yes. But demographic stats pale when compared to the weather. Records of Chickasha's weather have been kept for around 60 years. Records reflect that Chickasha's risk for a significant tornado event is slightly higher than any other Oklahoma city and Chickasha is assessed as having a 301 percent greater than average risk of tornado activity as compared to any other American city. The average daytime high temperature in Chickasha in January is 51 degrees with an average low nightime temperature of 28. Of course, just like the rest of Oklahoma, Chickasha is subject to extreme weather events. The highest temperature ever recorded in Chickasha in January is 87; the lowest is minus 11. January and February are typically the driest months of the year, with an average rainfall of 1.2 inches per month. With January generally bringing an average of 21 days during which the temperature at some point is less than 32 degrees (freezing), the average of only 3.2 rainy days in Chickasha suggests that January isn't a big bad weather month.

Well, not this year, when the Blizzard of '06 led up to the Winter Storm of early January '07, which was subsequently dwarfed by the historic Ice Storm of (January) '07, followed by yet another Winter Storm of '07 that didn't blanket Chickasha with the promised 10 inches of snow but did bring 1 1/2 inches of cold rain that coated everything above the streets with 1/4 inch of ice on top of the ice that closed schools and canceled activities in Chickasha and across the state for FIVE FULL DAYS. And it's only January 22.

The Oklahoma Climatological Survey identifies freezing rain (read: ICE) as a "distinct wintertime hazard in Oklahoma." ICE STORMS are defined as "extended freezing rain events, lasting several hours to days at some locations, with heavy ice accumulations. The US National Weather Service considers an ice storm with greater than 1/4 inch of ice accumulation a significant episode that would trigger an ice storm warning." (Chickasha missed the bullet, huh?)

Ice storms are equally as likely as heavy snow storms in Chickasha and other parts of Oklahoma although neither happen frequently during most winters. When significant icing happens, it tends to occur more often in Southeastern Oklahoma (such as McAlester, OK, where 20,000 people are still without power over a week after the big ice storm). While ice accumulation averages less than an inch, storms that deposit several inches can occur once or more per decade. In addition to the Ice Storm of '07, again according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, "the consecutive winters of 2000-01 and 2001-02 each featured a major ice storm that deposited more than three inches of ice in 24 hours across much of southeast and central Oklahoma" [where Chickasha is located].

So, it's been a hell of a decade so far. A slight reprieve and it was a balmy 38 degrees today. When I got home after a drive from a still icy Oklahoma City, the TV meteorologist mentioned off-handedly that another bout of winter weather might visit us this coming weekend (sigh!). I don't think the weather man wanted to be the bad guy for almost three weeks in a row. Of course, it didn't help that he noted that Arctic air and more Gulf moisture could be expected in early February '07. More to come, then?