See the picture above. Back in the days when the late meteorologist Rick Tasetano worked at KTOK Radio News in Oklahoma City, on windy days he would warn ladies that it was a “full skirt alert” day.
Now he probably couldn’t say that. Nonetheless, Thursday and Friday will be very windy days in Oklahoma and it will not only prove a challenge for utility workers atop poles or wind-turbine workers at the top of those giant towers, but for firefighters too.
Gary McManus, the State Climatologist at the Oklahoma Mesonet and the Oklahoma Climatological Survey wrote Wednesday warning of the dry conditions and the strong winds that will create extreme fire days later in the week.
“We will see some dangerous wildfire conditions Thursday and Friday as we go through this scenario, capped by Friday’s extreme conditions,” he wrote.
McManus pointed out the vegetation dries or goes dormant as the state is hit with dry cold air and the humidity craters only to be followed by—-wind.
First the wind is from the southwest then it switches to the north and the warmer air from the south increases the fire danger.
Take a look at those wind speeds….20 to 30 mph and the gusts could be higher.