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 »
Tue, Feb 02, 2021
The winter storm that began the year captured January’s biggest weather headline. The event straddled the changeover from 2020 to 2021, with as much as 10 inches of snow falling in Vici on New Year’s Day. Reports of 4-8 inches were widespread across the northwestern half of the state. Seasonal totals through January climbed to nearly 3 feet across northwestern Oklahoma. The National Weather Service cooperative observer at Arnett reported 34.3 inches since late October, 24.1 inches more than their entire normal seasonal total of 10.2 inches. Gate had received 31.1 inches during that same period. Six other sites had reported at least 20 inches of snow for the season through January, all in northwestern Oklahoma. Outside of the northwest, Piedmont led the way with 18.6 inches. Severe weather was rare during the month, but at least two tornadoes were spotted on the 30th in far northern Nowata County—the first two such reports of 2021 in Oklahoma. Non-thunderstorm winds gusted up to 65 mph on the 14th, prompting a dust storm warning for the Oklahoma Panhandle.
According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature was 39.5 degrees for the month, 1.8 degrees above normal, to rank as the 34th warmest January since records began in 1895. The highest reading came on Jan. 30 when the Oklahoma Mesonet sites at Altus, Durant, and Tipton all reached a maximum temperature of 73 degrees. The lowest temperature was 2 degrees recorded at Kenton on the 27th. Wind chills dropped to below zero on that day across northern Oklahoma, with Hooker bottoming out at -11 degrees. The first two months of the climatological winter, which runs December-February, have been on the warm side at 1.9 degrees above normal. The statewide average of 40.2 degrees ranks as the 30th warmest December-January on record.
Parts of southwestern through northeastern Oklahoma experienced an unusually wet January, thanks to the generous snowfall to start the year and three subsequent storm systems throughout the month. Surpluses ranged from about an inch in the southwest to a little over 4 inches in the northeast. Southern Oklahoma saw widespread deficits of up to 1.5 inches, with smaller shortfalls across the far northwest. Altogether, the statewide average was 1.75 inches, 0.19 inches above normal, to rank as the 44th wettest January on record. Northeastern, north central, and west central Oklahoma enjoyed their 12th, 16th, and 17th wettest Januarys on record, respectively. South central Oklahoma suffered a deficit of 0.74 inches to rank as their 47th driest January on record. The Mesonet site at Copan led the state with 5.58 inches while Boise City brought up the rear with 0.24 inches. Forty-two Mesonet sites received at least 2 inches of precipitation for the month. The first two months of winter were the 21st wettest on record with a statewide average of 4.34 inches, 0.72 inches above normal.
Drought took a tumble in Oklahoma during January. The wet month allowed a drop in drought coverage from 25% at the end of December to 11% exiting January. Drought that had been intensifying across south central Oklahoma was eradicated entirely. The Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) outlooks for February see increased odds of below normal temperatures across the northern half of the state, and above normal temperatures across the eastern third. Outside of those areas, equal chances exist for above-, below-, and near-normal temperatures and precipitation. CPC’s February drought outlook expects a static map, with neither development nor removal of drought by the end of the month. February is normally a relatively dry month in Oklahoma. Therefore, near- or below-normal precipitation combined with near- or below-normal temperatures would not be favorable conditions for drought development.
