Tue, May 01, 2018
April's Fiery Chill Wildfires rolled across the Oklahoma prairie for two weeks in April, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres and placing entire… Read More »
Mon, Apr 02, 2018
March Sees Mixed Drought Fortunes Drought continued to punish western Oklahoma throughout March, even as eastern sections saw additional relief. Similar to February, Interstate 44… Read More »
Thu, Mar 08, 2018
February Rain Records Shattered February rain records were shattered as a series of storm systems during the month’s final week brought snow, sleet and… Read More »
Thu, Feb 01, 2018
Drought Surges In January The dry weather that plagued Oklahoma through the final three months of 2017 showed no signs of letting up during… Read More »
Wed, Jan 03, 2018
Arctic Invasion Dominates December Oklahoma’s seemingly endless supply of mild weather came to an abrupt halt during the third week of December, ushering in… Read More »
Wed, Jan 03, 2018
Drought Expands During Dry November Drought flourished across Oklahoma over the past month, fed by one of the state’s driest and warmest Novembers on record.… Read More »
Wed, Nov 01, 2017
Tornadoes Highlight October Weather October’s weather was highly variable, and a bit too exciting at times as is usually the case during this transition… Read More »
Wed, Nov 01, 2017
Spring 2018 Mesonet OK-First Classes Now Open for Enrollment Spring 2018 OK-First classes are now open for enrollment! We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days),… Read More »
Tue, Oct 03, 2017
Southeast Sees Driest September on Record Hot and dry weather dominated Oklahoma’s weather headlines for much of September, a drastic change from the extraordinarily mild and… Read More »
Fri, Sep 01, 2017
August Spurns Summer August is often Oklahoma’s most brutal summer month. The spring rains become a distant memory, heat gains momentum through July,… Read More »
Tue, Aug 01, 2017
July Follows Summer Script July followed Mother Nature’s customary script for mid-summer in Oklahoma, complete with long stretches of sun and scorching temperatures, wildly… Read More »
Wed, Jul 05, 2017
Drought Returns in June June, normally a pillar of Oklahoma’s spring rainy season, was very much a disappointment in that regard. Unfortunately, that lack… Read More »
Thu, Jun 01, 2017
May Lives Up to Billing May gets top billing as Oklahoma’s rowdiest weather month, and it certainly lived up to that notoriety this year. At… Read More »
Mon, May 08, 2017
April Weather Runs the Gamut April took its penchant for widely varying weather to near satirical extremes across Oklahoma. Floods, tornadoes, drought and blizzards –… Read More »
Tue, May 02, 2017
Fall 2017 Mesonet OK-First Classes Now Open for Enrollment Fall 2017 OK-First classes are now open for enrollment! We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days),… Read More »
Mon, Apr 03, 2017
March More Lion Than Lamb Although drought, severe storms and flooding rainfall all made their presence known during the month, March’s weather story was dominated… Read More »
Wed, Mar 01, 2017
February Brings Early Oklahoma Spring If glimpses of winter were sporadic in December and January, they were downright scarce during February. Temperatures often soared into… Read More »
Wed, Feb 22, 2017
Oklahoma Mesonet Weather Camp 2017 We will be hosting a high school weather camp in the summer of 2017. High School Oklahoma Mesonet -… Read More »
Wed, Feb 01, 2017
Ice Storm Tops January Weather Headlines January 2017 would have been remembered as exceedingly warm and dull if not for the visit from a powerful mid-month… Read More »
Tue, Jan 03, 2017
2016 Ends With Memorable December December was a cold month for many Oklahomans, a dry month for most, and a memorable one for all. Normally,… Read More »
Fri, Mar 23, 2012
Drought Ends for Much of Oklahoma
Thu, Mar 22, 2012
Heavy rain associated with this week’s slow-moving storm system brought one hazard back to the state, even as it was ending another. The abundant moisture produced flooding in eastern and central Oklahoma, but also alleviated drought impacts that had plagued the state over the last 19 months. The result was a much-improved Oklahoma drought picture. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday morning, the area of the state completely free of drought or abnormally dry conditions rose from 27 percent last week to 63 percent this week. At the drought’s zenith in September 2011, the entire state was suffering some level of drought. At that point, having just exited the hottest summer on record for any state dating back to 1895, 69 percent of Oklahoma was mired in exceptional drought, the U.S. Drought Monitor’s worst category.
According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, rainfall totals of 4-6 inches were common throughout the eastern half of the state for Monday through Thursday morning. Estimated totals from radar indicate some localized areas in the northeast received more than 8 inches. Virtually the entire state received at least an inch of rain, with more general amounts of 2-4 inches spread throughout western and central Oklahoma. The Mesonet site at Pryor led totals with 6.95 inches. With rain continuing to fall, only three of the Mesonet’s 120 stations failed to record at least an inch of rainfall, and unfortunately they are located in areas of the state still hit hard by drought impacts. Kenton has had a paltry-but-welcome quarter-inch of moisture in the far western Panhandle. Its neighbor Boise City and Tipton in far southwestern Oklahoma received around three-quarters of an inch. Fifty-nine Mesonet sites recorded at least 3 inches of rain through Thursday morning, with 33 of those reporting more than 4 inches.
The statewide average going into Thursday morning stood at 4.3 inches, 2.1 inches above normal. That ranks the month already as the 10th wettest March on record with more than a week left to go, and the 13th wettest January-March period. The drought was just getting a toehold in March 2011, which ended as the eighth driest on record with a statewide average of 0.71 inches. The relief this March continues the momentum of drought eradication that began in October 2011. Since that time, also known as the start of the water year, the state has received an average of 17.3 inches of rain, a surplus of 3.6 inches. The water year runs from Oct. 1-Sep. 30. The water year thus far is the 12th wettest on record, compared to the same period last year, which was the seventh driest.
The outlooks for April-June from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center are uncertain about Oklahoma’s precipitation chances through that period. They indicate equal chances of below-, above- or near-normal precipitation, meaning no clear climate signal exists to tip the forecast in one direction. Two of those possibilities would be favorable for Oklahoma. Anything but below normal rainfall will continue to alleviate existing drought impacts, and prevent more drought from developing.
