Early heating stirs unpleasant memories in Oklahoma

Good news: The state is in much better shape going into this summer than it was a year ago, in terms of year-to-date rainfall. Ponds around the state that had no water in September are full or getting there.

Bad news: The most active tornado month in a typical year is May, which hasn't yet arrived. The 6,500 Oklahoma customers of GHS Property and Casualty Co. are looking for another insurance carrier. GHS is at least the second company to leave the market in the past six months because extreme weather led to so many claims.

Mixed news: Extreme weather brings rainfall, lessening the effects of drought but also increasing the number of claims borne by property and casualty companies.

Old news: All of the above.

It's springtime in Oklahoma and the livin' is uneasy. The mild winter, the relaxation of worries about a spring wildfire season, the prospects for the winter wheat crop and the paucity of a state presence on the federal drought monitor map are reasons for optimism. That the thermometer hit 105 in Altus on Wednesday is not.