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Mon, Dec 02, 2019

November Feels Winter Chill November’s weather was somewhat tame by Oklahoma’s standards, with cold weather dominating the headlines. Several intrusions of arctic air blasted… Read More »

Tue, Nov 05, 2019

October's Weather Was Frightful Despite the season, spring and winter weather stole most of the headlines during October. A cold front moved through the… Read More »

Tue, Oct 01, 2019

Summer Weather Scorches September September normally sees at least one or two decent cold fronts to whet the appetite for fall. Mother Nature had… Read More »

Thu, Sep 05, 2019

August Rains Tackle Drought Drought had gained a toehold across western and central Oklahoma during a hot, dry first half of August; further spread… Read More »

Thu, Aug 22, 2019

Fall 2019 Training Workshops for OK-FIRE Announced Operational since 2006, OK-FIRE is a weather-based decision-support system for wildland fire management.  OK-FIRE uses the Oklahoma Mesonet for current/recent… Read More »

Thu, Aug 01, 2019

Drought Returns During July Drought returned to the state for the first time since March 12, a stark reminder that spring deluges can quickly… Read More »

Mon, Jul 01, 2019

Unsettled Weather Continues During June The tumultuous weather of May calmed somewhat with the transition to June, the first month of climatological summer. Despite the… Read More »

Mon, Jun 03, 2019

May Weather Brings Disaster to Oklahoma Tornadoes and flooding battled it out for Oklahoma’s top weather headline during May 2019, with both combatants bringing mayhem and… Read More »

Wed, May 01, 2019

Severe Weather Punctuates April Following a few brief glimpses in March, spring finally arrived in earnest during April. The month was wet for most… Read More »

Wed, May 01, 2019

Fall 2019 Mesonet OK-First Classes Fall 2019 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »

Mon, Apr 01, 2019

March Sees Spring Sparingly Spring failed to gain a toehold during March, a month that both began and finished with a healthy dose of… Read More »

Fri, Mar 01, 2019

Winter Highlights February's Weather Drought, fire danger, floods, severe storms, multiple bouts with freezing rain, and even a good old fashioned Plains snowstorm –… Read More »

Fri, Feb 01, 2019

A Tale of Two Januarys The weather was a bit confused in Oklahoma during January. The first half of the month was on the warm… Read More »

Wed, Jan 02, 2019

December Storms Bring Moisture Three soaking storm systems brought much needed precipitation to the state, ending a run of up to 78 days without… Read More »

Mon, Dec 03, 2018

November’s Eventful Weather Much of Oklahoma’s weather was downright boring during November – cold and dry with a few warm days in between.… Read More »

Fri, Nov 09, 2018

October Extends Oklahoma's Rainy Streak Oklahomans experienced the gamut of their state’s annual weather hazards during October. Flooding rains, extreme heat, an arctic blast, the… Read More »

Fri, Nov 02, 2018

Spring 2019 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2019 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »

Mon, Oct 01, 2018

September Sees Historic Rains Many of Oklahoma’s most extreme rainfall events have occurred during the fall, the result of a rare conjunction of meteorological… Read More »

Mon, Sep 03, 2018

August Rains Shrink Drought Autumnal temperatures, heavy rain, and drought reduction captured the Oklahoma weather headlines during August, although the blazing voice of summer… Read More »

Wed, Aug 08, 2018

Fall 2018 Mesonet OK-First Classes Fall 2018 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »

News

Drought Returns During July

Thu, Aug 01, 2019

Drought returned to the state for the first time since March 12, a stark reminder that spring deluges can quickly be forgotten during the unforgiving Oklahoma summer. The abrupt end of the moisture actually extended back to mid-June in some areas, but the deficits widened further during July. The lack of rain coincided with intermittent periods of hot, windy weather. Those sporadic bouts of extreme summer conditions helped to accelerate the drought development process, despite the month being cooler than normal overall. Severe weather still made its presence known with reports of the customary culprits, including high winds, large hail, and flash flooding. There were no official reports of tornadoes. The preliminary Oklahoma twister count for 2019 stood at 129 at the end of July, the second highest total since accurate records began in 1950. The highest total of 145 occurred in 1999.

 

According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average rainfall total was 1.63 inches, 1.25 inches below normal, to rank as the 29th driest July since records began in 1895. Rainfall fortunes varied widely across the state. Substantial rains fell across much of eastern Oklahoma, where totals of 3-5 inches were common. Copan led the Mesonet at 5.81 inches, with Wister a close second at 5.35 inches. Significant deficits reigned across much of central and western Oklahoma. Forty-five of the Mesonet’s 120 stations recorded less than an inch of rain for the month, while 87 received less than 2 inches. Chickasha had the lowest total at 0.03 inches, although Minco was close behind with 0.04 inches. The Oklahoma City official observing site at Will Rogers Airport recorded 0.06 inches, tied for its fourth driest July on record. By the end of July, parts of north central Oklahoma had gone 45 days without at least a quarter-inch of rainfall. That streak extended to 38 days across central and southwestern Oklahoma. Chickasha, Hobart and Minco had gone 38 consecutive days without at least a tenth of an inch. The first seven months of the year were still extremely wet with a January-July statewide average of 27.86 inches, a surplus of 5.95 inches and the ninth wettest such period on record.

 

The statewide average temperature was 80.2 degrees, 1.3 degrees below normal to rank as the 34th coolest July on record. Several cold fronts helped keep the extreme heat confined within shorter windows. The strongest of those fronts moved through the state on the 22nd, dropping high temperatures into the low 80s. Lows in the 50s were common, and Camargo dropped to 48 degrees on the 24th for the month’s lowest reading. More than a dozen low temperature records were set across the state that morning. Extreme heat still visited at times, however. Kenton recorded July’s highest temperature at 107 degrees on the 19th. The Mesonet measured heat index values of at least 110 degrees 154 times during the month, maxing out at 116 degrees at Burneyville on July 10. The year continues to run on the cool side. The January-July statewide average was 58.6 degrees, a degree below normal, to rank as the 42nd coolest such period on record.

 

Nearly 6% of the state was in moderate drought according to the July 30 U.S. Drought Monitor report, and another 13% was considered “abnormally dry,” a drought precursor. Those designations cover most of the southwestern quarter of the state, with another dollop centered over Ellis County in the northwest. Drought development is considered likely across the western two-thirds of the state through the end of August according to the Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) monthly drought outlook. That drought development would be in addition to those areas that saw drought advance by the end of July. CPC’s temperature and precipitation outlooks for August indicate increased odds of above normal temperatures across the southwestern one-third of the state, and above normal precipitation over far northeastern Oklahoma.

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