Thu, Apr 25, 2024
Summer/Fall 2024 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2024 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
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 »
Thu, Sep 06, 2012
According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, August finished one degree above normal to rank as the 53rd warmest on record and a half an inch below normal to come in as the 42nd driest. Those records date back to 1895. Despite those seemingly benign statistics, August actually had weather to suit just about all summer appetites. The month started with one of the hottest stretches the state has ever experienced, moved to mild and wet for a spell, then ended once again on the hot side. Unfortunately, that brief fall-like interlude in the middle of the month did little to quell the ongoing flash drought event that began in late spring. The U.S. Drought Monitor report released on August 28 showed 37 percent of Oklahoma mired in exceptional drought, with 90 percent portrayed in extreme-exceptional drought. The Drought Monitor’s intensity scale slides from moderate-severe-extreme-exceptional, with exceptional being the worst category. To exemplify the drought’s rapid advance, only 17 percent of the state was in drought at the end of May and five percent was in exceptional drought at the beginning of August. Vegetation that had flourished in the wet and unusually warm winter and early spring became prime fuel for wildfires thanks to the heat and drought. More than 100,000 acres across the state burned in early August, with one fatality east of Norman attributed to wildfire.
The weather during early August was as intensely hot as nearly any in the state’s history with temperatures ranging from 105-115 degrees across much of Oklahoma. August 1 became the state’s 10th hottest day on record with a statewide average temperature of 93.7 degrees. That is still 1.2 degrees less than Oklahoma’s hottest day on August 12, 1936. Oklahoma City tied its all-time record high temperature and broke its all-time record warm low temperature on the same day, August 3, with readings of 113 degrees and 84 degrees, respectively. The highest temperature recorded by the Oklahoma Mesonet during the month was 115 degrees from Kingfisher on August 1. On the cool side, several Mesonet stations reached a minimum temperature of 50 degrees on August 20.
The end of August also brings the climatological summer to a close, and it was obviously a hot and dry one. The statewide average rainfall total during summer fell 3.7 inches below normal to rank as the 14th driest on record. The summer also ranked as the 12th warmest on record at 2.5 degrees above normal. The first eight months of the year ended as Oklahoma’s warmest January-August period on record at 4.3 degrees above normal. August was the 24th month out of the last 29 to finish warmer than normal, beginning with April 2010.
The September temperature and precipitation outlooks from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) hold few clues on what to expect for the next month. Most of the state is given equal chances for above-, below- or near-normal rainfall and temperatures, although the eastern half of the state is given slightly increased odds for warmer than normal weather. Farther out, the world awaits the arrival of El Niño. That warming of the waters in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean can impact weather patterns across the globe. One of its impacts is to provide increased chances for cooler and wetter weather across the southern tier of the United States during the cool season (October-March). The impacts are often not as strong for Oklahoma as its counterparts farther south and east, but data suggest moderate-to-strong El Niño events increase the odds for a wetter cool season across Oklahoma. In the event of a weak El Niño, drier weather is often the result. While El Niño is almost certain, and has possibly already developed, its intensity is still uncertain at this time.
Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report (Oklahoma)