Day 233: Norman Rain

Posted by on 21 Aug 2010 | 1 comment

Day 233

This evening a small thunderstorm developed over Norman, OK and went on to produce a small downburst/microburst over parts of the city. This thunderstorm was very small and (for the most part) missed the observation network located at the Norman airport. As such, much of the eastern half of the city received a soaking rain whereas the official report from Norman was much less. The National Weather Service’s reporting station is very near the Oklahoma Climate Survey’s Mesonet station, so the mesonet station is a good first guess as to what the official report was. As you can see, the mesonet site recorded 0.01″ of rain, which is much less than what I observed personally. It’s amazing what a small change in position can mean when it comes to measuring precipitation.

  • Nikki

    I was driving south along 24th SE between Hall Park and Alameda during this downburst/microburst event. The rain and wind passed over me while traveling through Hall Park, visability went down to a few feet in a matter of seconds. Once I passed Robinson I witnessed the powerlines on the eastern side of 24th snap and fall over, luckily they fell away from the road. Tree limbs and other debris were flying everywhere, the rain was behind me when I made it to Alameda and 24th. Fun times in a somewhat new SUV!