Gray skies in Oklahoma

Oklahomans, for the most part, are becoming weary of the rain.

Statewide rainfall on Tuesday included nearly 2 inches at Rush Springs, where resident Ashley Johnson looks out her window and sees tall grass.

"It’s been raining for about a week,” Johnson said. "I’m kinda tired of it because my yard’s about a foot tall. It’s really soggy, and I’ve got a lake out in the street.”

Oklahoma City resident Kelly Winters is also "tired of the rain,” she said. It’s the amount of rain she finds most disagreeable.

Tuesday was the 10th straight day of rainfall in Oklahoma City, according to the National Weather Service’s gauge at Will Rogers World Airport. More than 5 inches has fallen since the streak began on April 26. And Oklahoma City hasn’t seen a day of clear skies, as determined by the weather service, since April 21.

But not everyone is crying the blues.

Kelly Winters’ husband, Matt, said the rain has been a reprieve from springtime chores.

"It’s nice because I don’t have to turn on the air conditioner, and she doesn’t ask me to mow because it’s wet and she knows that I can’t,” Matt Winters said.

Such long-term exposure to gloomy weather can have effects on a person’s mood, much like winter time, said Tom Brian, health service psychologist and director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Tulsa.

While decreased light levels may play a part, disruptions of routines, such as daily outdoor exercise, or disruptions of plans, such as a rained-out graduation ceremony, fishing trip, cook-out or even being unable to mow the lawn, can cause frustration and feelings of unpleasantness, he said.

"Those are all things that contribute to lower moods,” Brian said.

"The weather may be part of it, but one’s emotions are not a total victim of the weather.”


Goodbye, drought?
The heaviest rain Tuesday fell from south-central to southeast Oklahoma. A Mesonet site near Rush Springs had measured 1.88 inches by 8 p.m.
Is the drought over? Technically, no, for some areas, said Alex Lamers, a forecaster for the National Weather Service. Areas of western and southern Oklahoma still were abnormally dry or in a moderate drought when the U.S. Drought Monitor figures were released last week.

It could change when the weekly report is released Thursday morning.

The last 30-day period has been the eighth wettest for that time period since record-keeping began in 1921. All of the state received rainfall well above normal for that period.

A brief respite is expected today.



by the associated press