Thu, Apr 25, 2024
Summer/Fall 2024 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2024 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Tue, Oct 10, 2023
Winter/Spring 2024 Mesonet OK-First Classes Winter/Spring 2024 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Thu, Apr 27, 2023
Summer/Fall 2023 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2023 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Tue, Jan 03, 2023
December Caps 2022 Rain Record December provided a fitting end to Oklahoma’s tumultuous 2022 weather story. This final chapter came complete with a half-dozen tornadoes,… Read More »
Tue, Nov 01, 2022
October Drought Relief Mixed Drought held on through October in Oklahoma for the fifteenth consecutive month, its roots dating back to August 2021 and… Read More »
Tue, Oct 11, 2022
Winter/Spring 2023 Mesonet OK-First Classes Winter/Spring 2023 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Mon, Oct 03, 2022
September Continues Dry Dusty Weather Drought surged across Oklahoma as the driest September since 1956 took its toll on the state’s landscape. The amount of… Read More »
Wed, Aug 17, 2022
Fall 2022 OK-FIRE Classes Free training workshops will be offered this fall for both new and experienced users of OK-FIRE, the statewide weather-based decision support system… Read More »
Mon, Aug 01, 2022
July Heat Punishes Oklahoma The seemingly impenetrable heat wave and dry spell that had punished Oklahoma since early June continued through nearly all of… Read More »
Fri, Jul 01, 2022
June Teases Several Seasons June managed to pack pieces of three seasons into a single month. The first 10 days were quite springlike, with… Read More »
Wed, Jun 01, 2022
May Rains Dent Drought May’s reputation as Oklahoma’s most prolific severe weather month was confirmed within the first week with as many as… Read More »
Mon, May 02, 2022
April Winds Highest in Mesonet Era Opinions on Oklahoma’s weather are often more variable than the weather itself. Some Oklahomans will look back on April… Read More »
Wed, Apr 13, 2022
Summer/Fall 2022 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2022 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Fri, Apr 01, 2022
Variety Describes March Weather March’s weather ran the gamut of nearly all the hazards Oklahoma has to offer, befitting a seasonal transition month in… Read More »
Tue, Mar 01, 2022
Wintry Weather Rules February Three impactful winter storms struck Oklahoma during February, snarling traffic on state highways, bringing down power lines, and forcing… Read More »
Tue, Feb 01, 2022
Winter Arrives In January Winter arrived with conviction at the dawn of the new year in Oklahoma and delivered a startling counterpunch to the… Read More »
Tue, Jan 04, 2022
December Shatters Temperature Record In what could best be described as a climatological anomaly on steroids, Oklahoma soared to its warmest December on… Read More »
Wed, Dec 01, 2021
November Caps Off Warm, Dry Fall An extended pattern of warm, dry weather exacerbated drought conditions during November. Drought impacts, including fire danger and soil… Read More »
Thu, Nov 18, 2021
Spring 2022 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2022 OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix of… Read More »
Mon, Nov 01, 2021
October Sets Tornado Record Oklahomans are growing accustomed to Mother Nature’s October weather shenanigans following a snowstorm of up to 13 inches in… Read More »
Mon, Feb 01, 2016
Considering the extreme precipitation that ended 2015, and with the “super” El Niño that boosted the November-December period to the wettest on record for the state still in place, January was a veritable dud. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average precipitation total was 0.71 inches, nearly an inch below normal and the 28th driest January since records began in 1895. Only 29 of the Mesonet’s 120 stations recorded at least an inch of rain, and only three exceeded 2 inches. Cloudy led all Mesonet sites with 2.45 inches. Boise City recorded a state low of 0.08 inches. Oklahoma City’s official observing site at Will Rogers Airport received 0.11 inches, the 12th driest January on record dating back to 1891. Tulsa fared a bit better with 0.61 inches, the 24th driest dating back to 1894. Some of the precipitation across the state fell as snow and ice, but those totals were fairly limited. The National Weather Service cooperative observer at Sayre recorded a respectable 3.8 inches for the state’s largest official total. Boise City still led the seasonal total with 19.5 inches of snowfall. Arnett was a distant second with 11.2 inches. Those are the only official observing sites with double-digit seasonal snowfall totals thus far.
Similar to precipitation, the relative warmth of the last two months of 2015 faded soon after Christmas, not to return until the end of January. The November-December period was more than 4 degrees above normal and the fourth warmest on record. Despite the return to more seasonable weather, however, the month still finished above normal according to Mesonet data. The statewide average of 38.2 degrees was half a degree above normal to rank as the 49th warmest on record. While it never got exceptionally cold in the state – the lowest temperature recorded by the Mesonet was a mere 4 degrees at Kenton on the 11th, fairly benign by January’s standards – we did not see those high temperatures rebound back into the 70s and 80s until the month’s final week. Southwestern Oklahoma received a sneak preview of summer with widespread 80s on the 29th and 30th. Hollis reached the month’s highest temperature of 85 degrees on the 30th. Oklahoma City and McAlester either tied or broke high temperature records on the 29th and 30th. The warmth and lack of moisture combined with high winds to create elevated wildfire danger at the end of the month. Wildfires were reported across many areas in central and western Oklahoma.
The strong El Niño that many experts attribute, at least partially, Oklahoma’s record breaking 2015 rainfall to has peaked according to Climate Prediction Center (CPC) forecasters. The phenomenon is expected to gradually weaken through spring 2016 before transitioning to neutral conditions during the late spring or early summer. Given that El Niño conditions are still present and relatively strong, impacts for the Southern Plains and Oklahoma will remain possible. CPC forecasters see increased odds of above normal precipitation for February and then for each three-month period from March-May through April-June. Those enhanced odds diminish from east to west across Oklahoma as spring unfolds, disappearing from the state as summer begins. Based upon that scenario, CPC’s U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook for February through April does not indicate any drought development across Oklahoma. It must be noted, however, that the consensus computer model forecast for the equatorial pacific waters later into fall and winter 2016 is for La Niña to develop. La Niña events can create the opposite of conditions that Oklahoma saw during 2016, with increased odds of a drier and warmer late fall through spring. The La Niña events of 2010-11 and 2011-12 were thought to have aided the beginning of the damaging five-year drought that struck the Southern Plains and Oklahoma from 2010-15. Sea surface temperature forecasts for next fall should be considered very preliminary at this time, but there is historical precedence for a strong El Niño to be followed by La Niña according to climate experts.