Oklahoma is now in fact burning

[phantom power]

A historic heat wave and drought fueled raging fires on Friday in Oklahoma. The fires destroyed at least 65 homes, forced multiple evacuations, and closed major roads.

Oklahoma City had its hottest day in history, hitting 113°, tying the city's all-time heat record set on August 11, 1936. The low bottomed out at 84°, the warmest low temperature ever recorded in the city (previous record: a low of 83° on August 13, 1936.)

Oklahoma City has now had three consecutive days with a high of 112° or higher, which has never occurred since record keeping began in 1891. With today's high expected to reach 113° again, the streak may extend to four straight days. Yesterday was the third consecutive day with more than a third of Oklahoma experiencing temperatures of 110° or higher, according to readings from the Oklahoma Mesonet.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) declared a "Critical" fire weather day over most of Oklahoma yesterday, due to extreme heat and drought, low humidities, and strong winds. Between 4 - 5 pm CDT Friday, Oklahoma City had a temperature of 113°, a humidity of 12%, and winds of 14 mph gusting to 25 mph. Another "Critical" fire weather day has been declared for Saturday. A cold front approaching from the northwest will bring winds even stronger than Friday's winds, and Oklahoma will likely endure another hellish day of extreme heat, dryness, and fires.



http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2171

[Ezlivin]

1. Great time for Senator "No Global Warming" Inhofe to return home

With the five week break that Congress is taking I'm sure he can drive around with his A/C off and explain to citizens that it's not really warmer outside, it's a liberal fiction.

Yes, I know that weather is not climate, but scientists are increasingly linking climate change with the extreme temperatures we're experiencing.

[CanonRay]

2. And yet, they will vote overwhelmingly for the primary climate change deniers...again

Coburn and Imhoff, two religious, libertarian wackos. Way to go, Okies. Dumber than dogshit. My apologies to Oklahoma DUers.

[XemaSab]

3. .

[GliderGuider]

4. Cool!

A wise man always leaves room for a little drought.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Wow

Makes me feel pretty lucky.

A co-worker has a son in Broken Arrow, OK, and gives us updates at lunch as to how hot it's been. It takes on a certain vividness when you see the map you posted.