Thu, Mar 27, 2014
Drought Grows Despite Recent Rains The dust storms, wildfires and reports of struggling crops and pastures that have plagued the state over the last few… Read More »
Mon, Jan 27, 2014
Welcome to the new OK-First website! Today marks a new chapter for OK-First as we unveil a fresh, new website for our public safety partners participating… Read More »
Thu, Jan 02, 2014
Frosty December Closes Out Tumultuous 2013 A frigid and sometimes icy December seemed a fitting way to close out the boisterous weather of 2013. Preliminary… Read More »
Sun, Dec 01, 2013
November Brings Early Taste of Winter to Oklahoma November is considered a fall month climatologically, but it certainly did its best to look like a winter month during… Read More »
Tue, Oct 01, 2013
Summer Returns During September, Brings Taste of Fall Autumn returned to Oklahoma nearly right on cue during the last week of September thanks to a moisture-laden cold front.… Read More »
Fri, Sep 06, 2013
National Weather Festival 2013 Saturday, Nov 2, 2013 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. National Weather Center, 120 David L Boren Blvd. (corner of… Read More »
Thu, Aug 01, 2013
An Uncommon July Brings Drought Relief It was not the wettest July on record in Oklahoma, at least not on a statewide basis. That mark belongs… Read More »
Mon, Jul 01, 2013
June Weather Follows Script June followed its normal script almost to the letter with a rainy and stormy first half of the month that… Read More »
Mon, Jun 03, 2013
A May To Remember In a state so accustomed to highly variable and often tumultuous weather, May 2013 will be long remembered as… Read More »
Tue, Apr 23, 2013
Science of Climate Change and Variability Workshop Oklahomas for Excellence in Science Education, the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the National Science Foundation, and the University of Oklahoma Biological… Read More »
Mon, Apr 01, 2013
Arrival of Spring Fails to Rescue Dry March April 1, 2013 The wet conditions of February failed to translate into March, but the cooler than normal… Read More »
Thu, Feb 28, 2013
February Brings Winter Storms, Drought Relief February 28, 2013 Winter roared back into Oklahoma during February, providing significant drought relief to much of the… Read More »
Mon, Feb 04, 2013
January Defies Dry Trend January 31, 2013 January seemed destined to finish on the dry side of normal, just as the eight months previous… Read More »
Wed, Jan 02, 2013
Heat and Drought Dominate 2012 Oklahoma Weather Headlines A slide back to true wintry weather, the likes of which had not been seen across Oklahoma since early… Read More »
Thu, Nov 29, 2012
Oklahoma Drought Picture Worsens During November Oklahoma Drought Picture Worsens During November Drought surged during November with a return to the dry, warm and… Read More »
Thu, Nov 08, 2012
Oklahoma Drought Continues to Expand With some areas of the state awaiting their first drop of rainfall since the end of September and a… Read More »
Thu, Nov 01, 2012
October Interrupts Warm Streak, But Not Drought It’s been awhile since Oklahoma has seen a month like October. Eleven months, to be exact. Not since September… Read More »
Tue, Oct 02, 2012
Late September Rains Provide Drought Relief Hopes for drought relief were starting to fade as September wound down, only to be saved by a slow-moving soaker… Read More »
Thu, Sep 06, 2012
Drought and Wildfires Plague August According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, August finished one degree above normal to rank as the 53rd warmest… Read More »
Thu, Aug 09, 2012
Extreme to Exceptional Drought Covers Most of Oklahoma Spurred by the rapidly intensifying flash drought and its impacts, including the extreme fire danger realized in the state… 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.
