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 »
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 »
Mon, Dec 02, 2019
November’s weather was somewhat tame by Oklahoma’s standards, with cold weather dominating the headlines. Several intrusions of arctic air blasted the country during November, and Oklahoma caught the edges of the frigid weather each time. Along with that cold came a mostly dry month across a droughty western Oklahoma. Heavy rains fell across the eastern half. There was a bit of snow across far northern Oklahoma – totals of 2-4 inches were observed in the Panhandle. A couple of thunderstorms in the east managed to exceed severe limits during the month’s final two days; wind and hail being the main threats.
An outbreak of wildfires occurred on Nov. 26 when a strong storm system moved through the state, kicking winds up to over 60mph. Interacting with low humidity and temperatures in the 70s and 80s, those winds allowed fires to spread rapidly, prompting evacuations and widescale emergency response efforts. In addition, more than 15,000 residences and businesses were without power due to the high winds.
According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature was 46.4 degrees, the 38th coolest November since records began in 1895. The highest recorded temperature of 81 degrees occurred twice – at Buffalo on the ninth and Waurika on the 19th. The Mesonet site at Eva fell to minus 4 degrees on the 12th for the lowest temperature of the month. The wind chill dropped below zero 39 times at the Mesonet’s 120 sites, with Eva’s minus 17 degrees on the 12th setting the low mark. The climatological fall (September-November) ended as the 53rd warmest on record, 0.4 degrees above normal. The first 11 months of the year were 0.3 degrees below normal, the 57th coolest January-November on record.
As has been the case in recent months, the heaviest precipitation fell across eastern portions of the state while the western half was left mostly dry. Totals ranged from 4-6 inches across the east. The western half received 1-2 inches in general, but north central and northwestern sections saw less than an inch. The statewide average was 2.55 inches, 0.04 inches above normal to rank as the 45th wettest November on record. Mt. Herman led all Mesonet sites with 7.79 inches. Eva received 0.36 inches for the lowest total. The fall season matched November’s pattern; it was generally dry across western Oklahoma and exceedingly wet across the east. The September-November statewide average was 10.04 inches, 0.46 inches above normal to rank the 41st wettest fall on record. The year continues on pace to be one of the top 10 wettest in state history. The January-November statewide average of 43.84 inches ranked as the seventh wettest on record with a surplus of 9.4 inches, and is already the eighth wettest calendar year on record. Northeastern Oklahoma shattered its annual record total with a month to spare. That area’s average January-November total was 61.65 inches, 21.33 inches above normal. The previous record annual total was 57.82 inches from 1973.
Given the ongoing dry weather across western Oklahoma, drought managed to increase and intensify during November. Drought coverage increased from 8% at the end of October to 13% at the end of November according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The area in severe drought increased from 1% to 4%, predominantly in the western Panhandle. The main feature of the December temperature and precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) was greatly increased odds of above normal temperatures across the Southern Plains – including Oklahoma. The precipitation outlook called for equal chances of above-, below- and near-normal moisture in the state. CPC’s December drought outlook indicated persistence of drought in those areas where it was noted in November’s final Drought Monitor map.
