Mon, Jan 05, 2015
Winter Finally Finds December Winter was noticeably absent through much of December, a deceptively warm month that ended more than 2 degrees above normal… Read More »
Tue, Dec 02, 2014
Spring 2015 OK-First Courses Open For Enrollment If you are a public safety official in the Mesonet's OK-First program, we've recently opened 10 classes for you for… Read More »
Tue, Dec 02, 2014
November Snow Steals Show Oklahoma’s weather during November was both simplistic and momentous. It began and ended on the warm side, and had a… Read More »
Tue, Nov 04, 2014
Top 20 Extreme Weather Events in Mesonet History Since 1994 the Oklahoma Mesonet has recorded many extreme weather events throughout or state. We have made a website dedicated… Read More »
Tue, Nov 04, 2014
Local Media Thanks Mesonet for 20 Years of Great Work! This video is a compilation of on-air meteorologists talking about the Oklahoma Mesonet, how they use it, and why it's… Read More »
Mon, Nov 03, 2014
October Rains Plentiful For Some, Scarce For Others One weekend of heavy rain brightened the fortunes of some Oklahomans during October while others continued on in the embrace… Read More »
Wed, Oct 01, 2014
Dry September Diminishes Drought Recovery Hopes were high for much-needed rainfall across Oklahoma after August's disappointing totals. June and July were exceedingly wet, lending optimism… Read More »
Tue, Sep 02, 2014
Summer Marks Return During August August made a valiant effort to continue the unusually cool and remarkably wet conditions of June and July and place… Read More »
Tue, Aug 19, 2014
Wx Briefing Ticker Welcome to the Beta Version of the New OK-1 Weather Briefing Page! Feel free to submit bugs/errors here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ok1beta. To enroll… Read More »
Mon, Aug 11, 2014
A July to Remember Sometime around the third week of May, with wildfires scorching the state and drought continuing to intensify, Oklahomans were in… Read More »
Thu, Aug 07, 2014
It's Not Too Late to Enroll in a Fall 2014 OK-First Class! If you are a public safety official in the Mesonet's OK-First program, it is not too late to enroll in… Read More »
Mon, Jul 21, 2014
National Weather Festival 2014 Saturday, Nov 1, 2014 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. National Weather Center, 120 David L Boren Blvd. (corner of… Read More »
Tue, Jul 01, 2014
Resurgent Spring Rains Continue in June Although the spring rainy season got a late start in 2014, not arriving in earnest until the third week of… Read More »
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 »
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.
