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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 »

Thu, Aug 02, 2018

July Provides Fall Preview Mother Nature threw Oklahoma a Hail Mary during the final week of July, offering drought-quenching rains and a glorious preview… Read More »

Mon, Jul 09, 2018

June Rains Ease Drought The Gulf of Mexico was in a giving mood throughout June, feeding a deep plume of tropical moisture to a… Read More »

Fri, Jun 01, 2018

May Breaks All-Time Temperature Record In defiance of spring, Mother Nature slipped right into summer during May, and broke a major record in doing so.… Read More »

Tue, May 01, 2018

April's Fiery Chill Wildfires rolled across the Oklahoma prairie for two weeks in April, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres and placing entire… Read More »

Mon, Apr 02, 2018

March Sees Mixed Drought Fortunes Drought continued to punish western Oklahoma throughout March, even as eastern sections saw additional relief. Similar to February, Interstate 44… Read More »

Thu, Mar 08, 2018

February Rain Records Shattered February rain records were shattered as a series of storm systems during the month’s final week brought snow, sleet and… Read More »

Thu, Feb 01, 2018

Drought Surges In January The dry weather that plagued Oklahoma through the final three months of 2017 showed no signs of letting up during… Read More »

Wed, Jan 03, 2018

Arctic Invasion Dominates December Oklahoma’s seemingly endless supply of mild weather came to an abrupt halt during the third week of December, ushering in… Read More »

Wed, Jan 03, 2018

Drought Expands During Dry November Drought flourished across Oklahoma over the past month, fed by one of the state’s driest and warmest Novembers on record.… Read More »

Wed, Nov 01, 2017

Tornadoes Highlight October Weather October’s weather was highly variable, and a bit too exciting at times as is usually the case during this transition… Read More »

Wed, Nov 01, 2017

Spring 2018 Mesonet OK-First Classes Now Open for Enrollment Spring 2018 OK-First classes are now open for enrollment! We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days),… Read More »

Tue, Oct 03, 2017

Southeast Sees Driest September on Record Hot and dry weather dominated Oklahoma’s weather headlines for much of September, a drastic change from the extraordinarily mild and… Read More »

News

October Extends Oklahoma's Rainy Streak

Fri, Nov 09, 2018

Oklahomans experienced the gamut of their state’s annual weather hazards during October. Flooding rains, extreme heat, an arctic blast, the season’s first snow, severe thunderstorms, and a slew of tornadoes – all were present during an active weather month. A weak tornado formed near Fairfax on Oct. 7, damaging roofs and power poles. Tornadoes struck again just after daybreak on Oct. 9, forming along the leading edge of a squall line moving across central Oklahoma. Eight tornadoes touched down that day according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service, most in and around the Oklahoma City area. The twisters damaged homes and businesses, but no injuries were reported. The most significant tornado started near Tinker Air Force Base and produced significant roof damage, later flipping cars in a Midwest City parking lot. Straight-line wind damage was also reported across central and eastern Oklahoma with the line of storms. The preliminary count of at least nine confirmed tornadoes is the third highest October tally in the state since records began in 1950, behind 1998’s record total of 27 and 19 in 2001. For excitement of a different sort, the state’s first measurable snowfall of the season occurred on Oct. 14 in the western Panhandle, although a few flakes were reported as far south as Clinton in western Oklahoma. More snow was reported in the Panhandle on a cold and dreary Halloween day.

 

Moisture was plentiful – and at times overwhelming – for the third consecutive month. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, October finished with a statewide average of 6.78 inches, sixth wettest since records began in 1895 with a surplus of 3.24 inches. Western and south central Oklahoma were especially wet with widespread totals of 6-12 inches. Sixty-eight of the Mesonet’s 120 sites had at least 6 inches for the month, 13 of which had more than 10 inches. Hobart led the state with 12.89 inches. It was drier than normal for some, particularly across northeastern Oklahoma. Oilton recorded the lowest total at 2.82 inches. Combined with the abundant moisture of the previous two months, the Mesonet’s August-October total jumped to 16.01 inches, 6.05 inches above normal to rank as the fifth wettest August-October on record for Oklahoma. That’s somewhat similar to last year’s 13th wettest total of 12.61 inches for the same period. The January-October average total of 36.16 inches was 4.23 inches above normal, the 17th wettest such period on record.

 

Mesonet stations saw heat index values of at least 95 degrees 125 times during the month’s first week, with four of those sites reaching 100 degrees. The month’s top actual air temperature of 97 degrees was reported at several sites on Oct. 3. The season’s first freeze arrived on the 14th with temperatures plunging into the 20s across northern Oklahoma. Wind chills dipped into the teens on the 14th and 15th during Oklahoma’s first bout of the season with true arctic air. Eva recorded October’s lowest temperature of 25 degrees on the 16th. The statewide average temperature fell a degree below normal at 59.9 degrees, the 30th coolest October on record. The January-October average of 63.8 degrees was 0.7 degrees above normal to rank as the 32nd warmest such period since 1895.

 

The wet August-October nearly eradicated drought across the state. Drought dropped from 55 percent of the state at the beginning of August to less than 2 percent at the end of October according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Far northeast Oklahoma retained the last vestiges of drought as deficits there have continued since October 2017. The November outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center indicate increased odds of below normal temperatures for all but the far western Panhandle, and above normal precipitation across the entire state. That results in a November drought outlook with complete drought removal likely in northeastern Oklahoma, and no new development across the rest of the state.

120 David L. Boren Blvd., Suite 2900
Norman, OK 73072
phone: 405.325.2541
fax: 405.325.7282
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