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Mon, Jan 04, 2021

Winter Flexes Muscles During December A powerful winter storm pounded the state on 2020’s final day, a fitting epitaph to a tumultuous year—and a wintry… Read More »

Mon, Dec 14, 2020

OSU - Mesonet offers management tools to help producers promote cattle comfort OSU News and Information https://news.okstate.edu/articles/agricultural-sciences-natural-resources/2020/stotts_cattle-comfort-advisor.html   MEDIA CONTACT: Donald Stotts | Agricultural Communications Services | 405-744-4079 | donald.stotts@okstate.edu Read More »

Tue, Dec 01, 2020

November Sees More Drought, Tornadoes November’s weather struggled to live up to the level of excitement provided by October’s historic cold snap and ice storm,… Read More »

Mon, Nov 02, 2020

Historic Storm Haunts October A historic winter ice storm struck the state during the last week of October, leaving nearly 400,000 residences and businesses… Read More »

Thu, Oct 15, 2020

Spring 2021 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2021 OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! For just the second time in program… Read More »

Thu, Oct 01, 2020

Winter Chill Stuns September A historic cold snap set the tone for a cool September, which saw one of the earliest intrusions of winter… Read More »

Tue, Sep 01, 2020

Cold Fronts Tame August Heat   Three strong cold fronts brought the summer heat to its knees during August, but drought took advantage of a… Read More »

Mon, Aug 03, 2020

July Sees Drought Relief   July brought a near miraculous recovery to much of Oklahoma, which was faced with an intensifying drought headed into… Read More »

Thu, Jul 02, 2020

June Rains Falter As Drought Surges Largely deprived of its primary rainy season, Oklahoma saw drought surge across the state during June. A mid-month bout with… Read More »

Wed, Jun 03, 2020

Tornado Count Slows During May   Cool weather dominated a good part of May, and possibly robbed Mother Nature of the heat needed for her… Read More »

Wed, May 20, 2020

Summer/Fall 2020 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2020 OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! For the first time in program history… Read More »

Fri, May 01, 2020

Weather Hazards Battle for April Headlines It’s difficult to say which weather hazard should claim top billing for April. Two late season freeze events made their… Read More »

Wed, Apr 01, 2020

Spring Steps Forward During March Winter seemed to take a final bow after February in Oklahoma, leaving March with a warm and wet transition to… Read More »

Mon, Mar 02, 2020

Snowstorm Highlights February Weather In February, Oklahoma finally received a month worthy of winter. It wasn’t tremendously cold, nor was it excessively wet, but… Read More »

Tue, Feb 04, 2020

Snow Thrives Despite Warm January Although January’s weather continued this winter’s general tilt towards unusually mild conditions, that failed to prevent several bouts of wintry… Read More »

Fri, Jan 03, 2020

December Tornado Caps Record Year Warm and mostly dry December weather dashed any hopes of walking in a winter wonderland, including dreams of a white… Read More »

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 »

Tue, Oct 01, 2019

Spring 2020 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2020 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »

News

July Sees Drought Relief

Mon, Aug 03, 2020

 

July brought a near miraculous recovery to much of Oklahoma, which was faced with an intensifying drought headed into summer’s scorching middle stanza. Uncharacteristically wet conditions succeeded in beating the drought back to a more manageable level, however, especially across the hardest hit areas in northern and central Oklahoma. Drought covered as much as 51 percent of the state on July 7 according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That coverage was reduced nearly in half by the end of July, however, eventually encompassing a little less than 26 percent of the state. The worst remaining conditions were across southwestern and west central Oklahoma where severe-to-extreme drought dominated the Drought Monitor map. The Drought Monitor’s intensity scale slides from moderate-severe-extreme-exceptional, with exceptional being the worst classification. Some of the heaviest rains were accompanied by severe weather. Two large areas of severe storms moved from north to south across the center and eastern sections of the state on the 11th, along with damaging winds of up to 80 mph. The storms left tens of thousands without power – for several days in some cases. Another round of storms on the 30th packed winds of over 90 mph and caused extensive tree and power line damage across southern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Mesonet site at Fittstown recorded a wind gust of 90 mph that evening.

 

In a stunning reversal of fortune following its 12th driest June on record, north central Oklahoma recorded its second wettest July with an average of 7.8 inches of rainfall, a surplus of 4.99 inches. Only 1950’s 8.59 inches ranked higher. Overall, the statewide average of 4.84 inches was 1.96 inches above normal to rank as the 16th wettest July on record. Several locations broke rainfall records for July. Enid’s 13.06 inches became their highest July total since its records began in 1894, topping 1960’s 12.97 inches. Ames and Jefferson – both with data stretching back to the 1890s – also saw records fall with 10.61 and 9.55 inches, respectively. Enid’s value for the month was bested when a volunteer observer near the small town of Hunter in Grant County reported the state’s highest total with 16.17 inches. That ranks as the 13th highest July rainfall total ever recorded in the state. Wewoka’s 18.83 in 1950 tops the list. Three Oklahoma Mesonet sites surpassed 10 inches, led by Breckinridge’s 11.96 inches. Butler brought up the rear at 1.23 inches. The January-July statewide average of 25.07 inches ranked as the 19th wettest such period on record with an average surplus of 3.16 inches.

 

The month began with searing heat, peaking on the 14th with the Mesonet’s site at Hollis hitting 113 degrees. The Mesonet’s 120 sites recorded triple-digit readings 258 times during the month, and 286 heat index values of at least 110 degrees. Stillwater topped heat index reports during July at 121 degrees on July 11. Rain and its associated cloudiness helped to cool the state down during the second half of the month. The most enjoyable weather was reserved for the month’s final week when highs dropped into the 80s and low 90s. Northeastern Oklahoma failed to escape the 70s on July’s final day. Altogether, the statewide average temperature was 82 degrees to rank as the 54th warmest July on record at half a degree above normal. The first seven months of the year were 1.4 degrees above normal at 60.9 degrees to rank as the 17th warmest January-July on record.

 

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) sees continued drought woes through August for those areas of the state currently in drought, but no further drought development is expected. Drought is expected to persist or intensify across much of the western half of the country. The temperature outlook indicates increased odds of below normal temperatures across the northeastern third of the state, but the worst drought areas across western Oklahoma are shown with “equal chances,” where odds are equal for above-, below- and near-normal temperatures. The precipitation outlook also shows all of the Southern Plains, including Oklahoma, with those same equal chances for each corresponding rainfall category.

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