Tue, Feb 02, 2021
Warm and Wet January Greets New Year The winter storm that began the year captured January’s biggest weather headline. The event straddled the changeover from 2020 to… Read More »
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 »
Mon, Mar 02, 2020
In February, Oklahoma finally received a month worthy of winter. It wasn’t tremendously cold, nor was it excessively wet, but it did provide much of Oklahoma with its first decent snow of the season. A strong storm system passed through the state on February 5 and dropped sleet, freezing rain, and 4-6 inches of snow along and around the Interstate 44 corridor. Higher totals of 6-8 inches were reported in the southwest, with a few localized areas receiving as much as 10 inches. There were other minor winter systems throughout the month, but none that packed the punch of the February 5 storm. For the cool season through February, all of Oklahoma has had at least a trace of snow. Portions of northwestern Oklahoma and the western Panhandle have received more than a foot of snow. Severe weather was rare during February, other than some storms in the southeast on the 18th that had large associated with them.
According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature was 41.6 degrees, half of a degree below normal to rank as the 68th coolest February dating back to 1895. That statewide reading was influenced by below normal temperatures in the far southwest, as well as sustained frigid conditions in the far western Panhandle; readings there were 2-3 degrees cooler than normal. The month’s high temperature of 83 degrees was recorded at three different Mesonet sites on February 2. The lowest temperature of 1 degree came just four days later at Tipton. Buoyed by unusual warmth during December and January, the climatological winter (December-February) was significantly warm at 42.3 degrees, 2.8 degrees above normal and ranked as the 10th warmest on record. February’s highest and lowest temperatures also served as winter’s extremes. The first two months of the year ranked as the 28th warmest such period on record at 41.9 degrees, 2.1 degrees above normal.
There were some hefty rainfall totals during February, but those were uncommon. Heavy rainfall for the month was concentrated in the most likely area; far southeastern Oklahoma had totals from 4-6 inches, with the Mt. Herman Mesonet site leading the way at 6.02 inches. The driest area also came as no surprise. The far western Panhandle station of Kenton had the lowest total with 0.26 inches. Most surpluses and deficits were within a half-inch of normal. Combined, the statewide average was 1.81 inches, just 2 hundredths below normal to rank as the 45th wettest February since 1895. Of the Mesonet’s 120 sites, 41 recorded less than an inch of moisture for the month. Winter ended as the 28th wettest on record, but only 0.85 inches above normal with a statewide average of 6.3 inches. Cloudy led all sites with 14.46 inches of rainfall for the season. Kenton had the lowest winter total of 1.06 inches. The first two months of 2020 were the 10th wettest January-February on record at 5.25 inches, 1.86 inches above normal.
Oklahoma’s drought coverage was cut nearly in half through February according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The amount of drought stood at 8.03% at the end of January, but had dropped to 4.66% by the end of February. An even larger reduction occurred since the start of climatological winter on December 1, when drought covered 14.27% of the state. All of the drought over the last three months occurred across the western one-third of the state. The amount of the state in at least “abnormally dry” conditions – areas in drought and additional parts possibly headed towards drought – fell from 35% to 13% through winter. The March temperature outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) indicates increased odds for above normal temperatures across all of Oklahoma, but those odds are greater in eastern Oklahoma. The precipitation outlook shows enhanced chances of below normal precipitation across the northwestern quarter of the state, but above normal across far eastern Oklahoma. CPC expects the existing drought to persist in the state through March, but no new development is anticipated.