Fri, Mar 30, 2012
OK Regents Summer Academies This summer, invite your students to spend time at an Oklahoma college or university and discover the fascinating worlds of aeronautics,… Read More »
Fri, Mar 23, 2012
Drought Ends for Much of Oklahoma Drought Ends for Much of Oklahoma Thu, Mar 22, 2012 Heavy rain associated with this week’s slow-moving storm… Read More »
Thu, Mar 01, 2012
Warm February Closes Out Eleventh Warmest Winter in Oklahoma Golf clubs replaced parkas as the outdoor accessory of choice this winter, and Oklahoma’s kids can only dream of missed… Read More »
Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Oklahoma Mesonet Weather Camp Oklahoma Mesonet Weather Camp June 10-15, 2012 at the University of Oklahoma Application Deadline is March 30th Know a… Read More »
Tue, Jan 03, 2012
EarthStorm-Job Shadow Program for Meteorology Careers Applications for the 2012 Job Shadow Day are available at: http://www.mesonet.org/index.php/earthstorm/page/job_shadow. Deadline: February 3rd, 2012 Job Shadow Day: February… Read More »
Tue, Jan 03, 2012
A Year of Extremes Extreme weather grabbed headlines across the globe during 2011 and nowhere more so than right here in Oklahoma. The… Read More »
Tue, Nov 29, 2011
Walters Mesonet Station to Move Planned construction near our Walters Mesonet station has prompted us to relocate the site. We have been working with the… Read More »
Tue, Nov 01, 2011
Rains Ease Drought Woes During October September brought Oklahomans relief from the heat and October did its part with a bit of drought relief. The drought… Read More »
Tue, Nov 01, 2011
EarthStorm-ScienceFest 2012 Register now for ScienceFest 2012 ScienceFest will be held at the Oklahoma City Zoo on April 19, 2012. ScienceFest is a… Read More »
Tue, Oct 18, 2011
EarthStorm - National Weather Festival Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. National Weather Center, 120 David L Boren Blvd. (corner of… Read More »
Fri, Oct 07, 2011
University of Oklahoma Selected to Host One of Eight Regional Climate Science Centers Nationwide The University of Oklahoma has been selected by the U.S. Department of the Interior as the site of one of… Read More »
Fri, Sep 30, 2011
September Sees Relief on the Thermometer, Not the Rain Gauge While little relief from drought was found in September, the reprieve from the intense summer heat was nearly instantaneous. After… Read More »
Mon, Sep 12, 2011
EarthStormNews - NSTA Webinar for CoCoRaHS Two citizen science networks will be presented during this web seminar. Both involve networks that collect weather observations. One is… Read More »
Fri, Sep 09, 2011
La Nina Returns, Continuation of Drought Likely for Oklahoma La Nina has officially returned to the equatorial pacific waters according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC).… Read More »
Thu, Sep 08, 2011
EarthStormNews - Teacher VIP at Science Museum Oklahoma Teachers! You are invited to join us for a special teacher VIP night at Science Museum Oklahoma! Reservations are… Read More »
Thu, Sep 01, 2011
Record August Puts Exclamation Point on Hottest Oklahoma Summer To get a sense of the state’s legendary heat waves of its past, Oklahoma’s youngest generation would normally turn to… Read More »
Fri, Aug 12, 2011
Oklahoma July Warmest on Record for U.S. Grover Cleveland was serving his second term as President in 1895. Victoria was the Queen of England and Will… Read More »
Mon, Aug 01, 2011
July Heat Becomes Historic Fueled by exceptional drought and a seemingly impenetrable heat-dome, July roared through Oklahoma’s legendary heat waves of the past to… Read More »
Tue, Jul 12, 2011
Hot Enough for You? Oklahomans are used to 100-degree days, but typically not so many during June and certainly not for this long. In… Read More »
Fri, Jul 08, 2011
Welcome USGS Leaders! On Monday, July 11, the University of Oklahoma (OU) will host a team of leaders from the U.S. Geological Survey… Read More »
Thu, Jun 23, 2011
Exceptional Drought Expands in Oklahoma
Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
The extraordinary heat and wind during June has taken its toll on the western half of Oklahoma, allowing the persistent drought that began last fall to intensify and spread. The new map released Thursday morning by the United States Drought Monitor reveals the ugly truth. Exceptional drought, the worst such designation in the Drought Monitor's intensity scale, increased in coverage from 10 percent of the state last week to 33 percent this week. In addition to the widespread exceptional drought covering virtually the entire western one-third of Oklahoma, extreme-to- severe drought has also shifted back to the east.
The state missed a substantial amount of its normal rainfall during the last 30 days. According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the May 24-June 22 statewide average rainfall total was 1.24 inches, a deficit of 3.23 inches and the driest such period in Oklahoma dating back to 1921. Southwestern and south central Oklahoma suffered through similar rankings for the last 30 days, receiving a scant 12 percent of normal rainfall over that period. Since October 1, 2010, some areas in far western Oklahoma have received less than 6 inches of rainfall. Boise City has recorded 2.7 inches of rain in the last 9 months.
The tremendous early summer heat accelerated the drought’s eastward progress. The statewide average temperature for the month thus far stands at 82.7 degrees, which would be high enough to rank as the third warmest June on record in Oklahoma. The warmest June goes to 1953 at 84.6 degrees with 1911 coming in second at 83.3 degrees. High temperatures across the state during June averaged 95.7 degrees through the 22nd, 8.6 degrees above normal. The average high temperature in southwestern Oklahoma came in at 101 degrees during that period. The Oklahoma Mesonet station at Grandfield has recorded a high temperature of at least 100 degrees 20 times during June with a statewide high temperature of 114 degrees on the 17th.
The drought’s impacts have been enormous, especially in western Oklahoma where damage to this year’s winter wheat crop was widespread. Fire danger, which normally subsides in early spring as vegetation greens up, has continued through spring unabated. Damage to the state’s cotton crop in southern Oklahoma is continuing as those plants begin their growth cycle in desperate need of moisture. Livestock operations have been particularly hard hit due to the loss of stock ponds and feed. Cattle sell-offs have continued through spring as ranchers try to thin herds that their land can no longer support.
Very little relief is in sight as the Oklahoma summer continues. The latest outlooks from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center call for increased chances of warmer- and drier-than-normal conditions through July. The latest U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook sees persistence or intensification of drought through September for the western one-half of the state.
PDF: The latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map, released on Thursday, June 23
