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 »
Thu, Aug 01, 2013
It was not the wettest July on record in Oklahoma, at least not on a statewide basis. That mark belongs to 1950's statewide average of 9.26 inches. Nor was it the coolest. That title is held by 1906's statewide average of 75.9 degrees. Nevertheless, this July will be remembered as one of the wettest and mildest in recent memory, especially compared to the blast furnace versions of the last few summers. It featured a July 4th holiday with highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s, and enough rain to kick drought to the curb across much of the state. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, July's statewide average precipitation total was 5.11 inches, a surplus of 2.37 inches and ranked as the 15th wettest since records began in 1895. The statewide average temperature was a very pleasant 79.6 degrees, 2 degrees below normal and the 28th coolest July on record. The highest temperature recorded during the month was 107 degrees at Alva, Buffalo and Freedom on the ninth, and again at Grandfield on the 11th. The lowest temperature reported was an unseasonably chilly 49 degrees at Seiling on July 2.
While nearly all areas of the state received beneficial rain, a wide discrepancy existed between locations. The Mesonet's Kingfisher site led the state with 10.99 inches of rainfall during July while Goodwell brought up the rear at 1.02 inches. Oklahoma City's total of 9.84 inches, 6.91 inches above normal, ranked this July as its second wettest on record, bested only by 1996's 11.9 inches. That also keeps Oklahoma City on pace to have its wettest calendar year on record with a January-July total of 41.69 inches, more than 3 inches ahead of 2007's total of 38.15 inches over the same period. The calendar year record for Oklahoma City currently stands at 56.95 inches from that same year of 2007. Records for Oklahoma City date back to 1891. On the other side of the moisture spectrum, the Mesonet site at Goodwell has recorded a meager 5.2 inches of rain since the first of the year. That's the third driest January-July for that area since 1910. Not surprisingly, 2011 earned the driest mark for Goodwell with 1.73 inches.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report reflects the abundant July rainfall, especially across the eastern two-thirds of the state. Only 1.4 percent of the state is labeled within exceptional drought. That is a reduction from 8.7 percent at the end of June. Over 62 percent of the state is now drought free, primarily from central through eastern Oklahoma. Only 41 percent of the state was free from drought at the end of May, according to the Drought Monitor. The entire state was labeled in some intensity of drought at the beginning of the year, including 37 percent of the state in the exceptional category. The far western edge, including the Panhandle, remains in drought categorized as being at least in the extreme category. The Drought Monitor’s intensity scale slides from moderate-severe-extreme-exceptional, with exceptional being the worst category.
The monthly outlooks for August from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center indicate an increased chance for above normal temperatures across southwestern Oklahoma and the Panhandle, but no indications of above-, below- or near-normal precipitation across the state. The U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook for August has drought improving across the northwestern quarter of the state, along with the Panhandle areas of Oklahoma and Texas. Drought is expected to persist across southwestern Oklahoma. No development of drought is expected across the eastern two-thirds of the state through the end of August.