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Mon, Jan 04, 2021

Winter Flexes Muscles During December A powerful winter storm pounded the state on 2020’s final day, a fitting epitaph to a tumultuous year—and a wintry… Read More »

Mon, Dec 14, 2020

OSU - Mesonet offers management tools to help producers promote cattle comfort OSU News and Information https://news.okstate.edu/articles/agricultural-sciences-natural-resources/2020/stotts_cattle-comfort-advisor.html   MEDIA CONTACT: Donald Stotts | Agricultural Communications Services | 405-744-4079 | donald.stotts@okstate.edu Read More »

Tue, Dec 01, 2020

November Sees More Drought, Tornadoes November’s weather struggled to live up to the level of excitement provided by October’s historic cold snap and ice storm,… Read More »

Mon, Nov 02, 2020

Historic Storm Haunts October A historic winter ice storm struck the state during the last week of October, leaving nearly 400,000 residences and businesses… Read More »

Thu, Oct 15, 2020

Spring 2021 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2021 OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! For just the second time in program… Read More »

Thu, Oct 01, 2020

Winter Chill Stuns September A historic cold snap set the tone for a cool September, which saw one of the earliest intrusions of winter… Read More »

Tue, Sep 01, 2020

Cold Fronts Tame August Heat   Three strong cold fronts brought the summer heat to its knees during August, but drought took advantage of a… Read More »

Mon, Aug 03, 2020

July Sees Drought Relief   July brought a near miraculous recovery to much of Oklahoma, which was faced with an intensifying drought headed into… Read More »

Thu, Jul 02, 2020

June Rains Falter As Drought Surges Largely deprived of its primary rainy season, Oklahoma saw drought surge across the state during June. A mid-month bout with… Read More »

Wed, Jun 03, 2020

Tornado Count Slows During May   Cool weather dominated a good part of May, and possibly robbed Mother Nature of the heat needed for her… Read More »

Wed, May 20, 2020

Summer/Fall 2020 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2020 OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! For the first time in program history… Read More »

Fri, May 01, 2020

Weather Hazards Battle for April Headlines It’s difficult to say which weather hazard should claim top billing for April. Two late season freeze events made their… Read More »

Wed, Apr 01, 2020

Spring Steps Forward During March Winter seemed to take a final bow after February in Oklahoma, leaving March with a warm and wet transition to… Read More »

Mon, Mar 02, 2020

Snowstorm Highlights February Weather In February, Oklahoma finally received a month worthy of winter. It wasn’t tremendously cold, nor was it excessively wet, but… Read More »

Tue, Feb 04, 2020

Snow Thrives Despite Warm January Although January’s weather continued this winter’s general tilt towards unusually mild conditions, that failed to prevent several bouts of wintry… Read More »

Fri, Jan 03, 2020

December Tornado Caps Record Year Warm and mostly dry December weather dashed any hopes of walking in a winter wonderland, including dreams of a white… Read More »

Mon, Dec 02, 2019

November Feels Winter Chill November’s weather was somewhat tame by Oklahoma’s standards, with cold weather dominating the headlines. Several intrusions of arctic air blasted… Read More »

Tue, Nov 05, 2019

October's Weather Was Frightful Despite the season, spring and winter weather stole most of the headlines during October. A cold front moved through the… Read More »

Tue, Oct 01, 2019

Summer Weather Scorches September September normally sees at least one or two decent cold fronts to whet the appetite for fall. Mother Nature had… Read More »

Tue, Oct 01, 2019

Spring 2020 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2020 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »

News

March Sees Spring Sparingly

Mon, Apr 01, 2019

Spring failed to gain a toehold during March, a month that both began and finished with a healthy dose of winter. A powerful cold front plowed through the Southern Plains over the first few days of the month and brought a bit of snow, a bit of ice, and a generous portion of frigid weather. Wind chills fell below zero over much of the state, and as low as minus 12 degrees in the Panhandle. Snow totals were generally light – less than an inch in most areas – although Forgan and Claremore reported 4 and 5 inches, respectively. Another strong front struck during the last couple of days of March and dropped low temperatures well below freezing across the northwestern half of the state. The Mesonet site at Eva recorded a teeth-chattering 16 degrees on March’s final day. Hail up to the size of baseballs plagued central and eastern Oklahoma associated with a storm system on the 23rd and 24th. Perhaps the most damaging March hazard was a windstorm that enveloped the state March 13-14. Winds gusted to more than 70 mph across western Oklahoma, and 50-60 mph to the east. The Oklahoma Mesonet recorded 303 instances of wind gusts 58 mph or greater on the 13th, the speed required to trigger a severe thunderstorm warning according to National Weather Service criteria. There were widespread reports of downed power lines and trees, and a fire station in Del City lost part of its roof due to the severe winds.

 

According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, March fell 3.4 degrees below normal with a statewide average of 47 degrees. That ranked the month as the 33rd coolest March since records began in 1895. The chill during that first week was profound. High temperatures in the Panhandle failed to reach 20 degrees on March 3-4, more than 30 degrees below normal. Kenton recorded a low of minus 2 degrees on March 5 for the lowest temperature of the month. McAlester broke its record low on March 5, falling to 13 degrees. The northwest half of the state spent more than 100 hours below freezing during March’s first seven days, with 50-90 of those hours below 24 degrees. The southeast half spent 50-90 hours below 32 degrees. There was a bit of spring heat to satisfy warm weather fans, mostly during the latter half of the month. Arnett and Woodward reached 87 degrees on the 28th for the highest mark. The January-March statewide average of 42 degrees was 1.4 degrees below normal, the 58th coolest first three months of the year on record.

 

The statewide average precipitation total was 2.58 inches, 0.46 inches below normal and ranked as the 53rd wettest March on record. There was a wide disparity between rain totals in various regions of the state, however. West central Oklahoma finished with an average of 2.86 inches, 0.57 inches above normal for their 21st wettest March on record. The Panhandle was close behind at 0.54 inches above normal with an average total of 1.97 inches, their 24th wettest March on record. Meanwhile, the southeast was more than an inch below normal at 3.12 inches, their 44th driest March. While all of the Mesonet’s 120 stations received at least an inch of rain, the majority ended at a deficit for the month. Boise City recorded the least with 1.16 inches. Cookson led all stations with 4.66 inches. The first three months of the year saw a deficit of 0.22 inches, the 50th wettest January-March on record.

 

Following a brief flare up of drought in southwest Oklahoma in late February, enough precipitation fell to reduce that area back to “abnormally dry” conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor report during March. According to the April outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), chances of that drought returning within the next month are remote. Those outlooks show increased odds for above normal precipitation across the entire state during April. Chances are also increased for above normal temperatures over eastern Oklahoma and the western Panhandle. CPC’s April drought outlook does not indicate any drought intensification within Oklahoma during April.

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