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 »
Tue, Oct 05, 2021
Fall 2021 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… Read More »
Tue, Nov 01, 2016
Autumn remained a reluctant visitor during October as the jet stream retreated far to the north, leaving Oklahoma to bask in near summerlike heat. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature finished at 66.9 degrees, 6 degrees above normal, to rank as the fourth warmest October since records began in 1895. High temperatures reached into the 80s and 90s somewhere in the state on 30 of October’s 31 days. Several stations climbed into triple-digits across the northwest on the 16th and 17th. Slapout reached 102 degrees on the 16th and Buffalo equaled that mark on the 17th – the highest temperature ever recorded in the state that late in the calendar year. Both readings topped the previous record of 101 degrees at Healdton back on Oct. 17, 1972. The heat extended all the way to Halloween where highs in the 80s and 90s provided pleasant trick-or-treat weather that evening. Low temperatures did dip below freezing at times, although those instances were uncommon. The month’s lowest temperature of 26 degrees was recorded by the Kenton Mesonet site on the sixth. October’s heat continued to add to a very warm 2016 with the first 10 months of the year ranked as the seventh warmest on record at 2.4 degrees above normal.
The state was largely devoid of significant precipitation during the month. The Mesonet’s statewide average of 1.85 inches was 1.69 inches below normal to rank as the 37th driest October on record. The Panhandle suffered through its 14th driest October with an average of a quarter-inch while the southeast averaged 0.96 inches, their 15th driest at 4 inches below normal. Only the northeast, where heavy rains fell along the Kansas border from Osage to Ottawa counties, managed a surplus with an average of 4.55 inches. That exceeds normal by nearly an inch and ranks as the 33rd wettest October for that region. Blackwell led the Mesonet with 8.33 inches. Approximately 350 miles to the west, the Kenton Mesonet site barely had a sip of water with 0.02 inches. Of the 121 Mesonet sites, 47 recorded less than an inch of rainfall during the month, and 73 recorded less than 2 inches. The first two months of climatological fall, September and October, ended as the 44th driest across the state with a deficit of 1.84 inches. The Panhandle and the southeast once again stood out in the statistics with a ranking of 12th driest for both during that period. The January-October statistics look much tamer with the wet spring and early summer included, but still ended with a deficit of nearly 3 inches, the 46th driest such period on record. The year has been much drier across eastern Oklahoma where the east central, northeast and southeast regions experienced their 33rd, 45th and 37th driest January-October on record. The southwest saw its 16th wettest, however, with a surplus of over 5 inches.
The lack of precipitation and excessive heat prompted drought’s return in the northwest and intensification in the southeast. Drought was somewhat relieved in the northeast thanks to areas of heavy rain, but dry conditions spread from the far western Panhandle through northwestern Oklahoma. At the beginning of the month, 19 percent of the state was considered in at least moderate drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor, and 23 percent was considered to be abnormally dry. By month’s end, those amounts had risen to 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
The November temperature outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) shows greatly increased odds of above normal temperatures across all of Oklahoma, but especially across the far northwest. The precipitation outlook is indeterminate except for slightly increased odds of below normal precipitation across far the far southeast and above normal precipitation in the far southwest and western Panhandle. Given those prospects, CPC’s U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook for November considers further drought development likely across the eastern one-third of Oklahoma, and either persistence or intensification where drought already exists.