Tue, Oct 10, 2023
Winter/Spring 2024 Mesonet OK-First Classes Winter/Spring 2024 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Thu, Apr 27, 2023
Summer/Fall 2023 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2023 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Tue, Jan 03, 2023
December Caps 2022 Rain Record December provided a fitting end to Oklahoma’s tumultuous 2022 weather story. This final chapter came complete with a half-dozen tornadoes,… Read More »
Tue, Nov 01, 2022
October Drought Relief Mixed Drought held on through October in Oklahoma for the fifteenth consecutive month, its roots dating back to August 2021 and… Read More »
Tue, Oct 11, 2022
Winter/Spring 2023 Mesonet OK-First Classes Winter/Spring 2023 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Mon, Oct 03, 2022
September Continues Dry Dusty Weather Drought surged across Oklahoma as the driest September since 1956 took its toll on the state’s landscape. The amount of… Read More »
Wed, Aug 17, 2022
Fall 2022 OK-FIRE Classes Free training workshops will be offered this fall for both new and experienced users of OK-FIRE, the statewide weather-based decision support system… Read More »
Mon, Aug 01, 2022
July Heat Punishes Oklahoma The seemingly impenetrable heat wave and dry spell that had punished Oklahoma since early June continued through nearly all of… Read More »
Fri, Jul 01, 2022
June Teases Several Seasons June managed to pack pieces of three seasons into a single month. The first 10 days were quite springlike, with… Read More »
Wed, Jun 01, 2022
May Rains Dent Drought May’s reputation as Oklahoma’s most prolific severe weather month was confirmed within the first week with as many as… Read More »
Mon, May 02, 2022
April Winds Highest in Mesonet Era Opinions on Oklahoma’s weather are often more variable than the weather itself. Some Oklahomans will look back on April… Read More »
Wed, Apr 13, 2022
Summer/Fall 2022 Mesonet OK-First Classes Summer/Fall 2022 Mesonet OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix… Read More »
Fri, Apr 01, 2022
Variety Describes March Weather March’s weather ran the gamut of nearly all the hazards Oklahoma has to offer, befitting a seasonal transition month in… Read More »
Tue, Mar 01, 2022
Wintry Weather Rules February Three impactful winter storms struck Oklahoma during February, snarling traffic on state highways, bringing down power lines, and forcing… Read More »
Tue, Feb 01, 2022
Winter Arrives In January Winter arrived with conviction at the dawn of the new year in Oklahoma and delivered a startling counterpunch to the… Read More »
Tue, Jan 04, 2022
December Shatters Temperature Record In what could best be described as a climatological anomaly on steroids, Oklahoma soared to its warmest December on… Read More »
Wed, Dec 01, 2021
November Caps Off Warm, Dry Fall An extended pattern of warm, dry weather exacerbated drought conditions during November. Drought impacts, including fire danger and soil… Read More »
Thu, Nov 18, 2021
Spring 2022 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2022 OK-First classes for public safety officials are now open for enrollment! We will be offering a mix of… Read More »
Mon, Nov 01, 2021
October Sets Tornado Record Oklahomans are growing accustomed to Mother Nature’s October weather shenanigans following a snowstorm of up to 13 inches in… Read More »
Tue, Oct 05, 2021
Fall 2021 OK-FIRE Classes Free training workshops will be offered this fall for both new and experienced users of OK-FIRE, the statewide weather-based decision… Read More »
Sun, Dec 01, 2013
November is considered a fall month climatologically, but it certainly did its best to look like a winter month during 2013. Emphatically cooler than normal, thanks mostly to a frigid outburst by Mother Nature during its final 10 days, November was punctuated by an early cool-season snowstorm that dumped more than a foot of snow across southwestern Oklahoma. According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature for the month ended 1.8 degrees below normal at 46.5 degrees, the 33rd coolest November since records began in 1895. November was the eighth month during 2013 to finish with below normal temperatures. Prior to that, 28 out of the 34 months between April 2010 and January 2013 had been warmer than normal. The January-November statewide average of 61.1 degrees is the 40th coolest such period on record at half of a degree below normal, standing in stark contrast to last year's mark of 65 degrees over the same period. The fall season itself, however, was actually 0.2 degrees above normal and ranked as the 59th warmest on record. The lowest temperature recorded by the Mesonet was 9 degrees from Alva on the ninth, and the highest temperature of 85 degrees occurred at Altus on the 16th.
Moisture was plentiful in a few select areas, but scarce for most. The statewide average precipitation total as measured by the Mesonet came in at 1.64 inches, more than an inch below normal, to rank as the 47th driest November on record. The most notable exception was drought-parched southwestern Oklahoma, a result of their late-month wintry blast, although far southeastern Oklahoma saw some hefty precipitation totals as well. Other than those lucky few, the rest of the state saw deficits of 1-3 inches. Far northwestern Oklahoma was particularly dry with less than 20 percent of normal November rainfall. Fall was also dry with a statewide average of 7.22 inches, 2.8 inches below normal, to rank as the 45th driest on record. The Mesonet station at Idabel led the state with 6.52 inches while Freedom recorded a meager 0.18 inches.
The wintry precipitation actually came in two successive waves. The first storm brought a light glaze of ice to the state on the 22nd and 23rd and wind chills down into the single digits. The more powerful storm struck on the 24th and 25th with snow, sleet and freezing rain falling over a large area, creating widespread traffic problems and scattered power outages. National Weather Service (NWS) cooperative observers at Altus, Hobart and Vinson all recorded 13 inches of snow during the storm on November 24 and 25, and the Mangum observer was close behind with 11 inches. Widespread totals of 4-6 inches were reported across other parts of southwestern Oklahoma. Some snow spread to the north and east from the storm, but the rest of the state saw precipitation mainly in the form of rain, sleet and freezing rain. Oklahoma City saw less than an inch of snow during the storm and Tulsa recorded a trace.
Very little change occurred in drought conditions during November according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. There was an increase in drought intensity across far southwestern and west central Oklahoma, but a bit of a decrease across south central Oklahoma. At month's end, 31 percent of Oklahoma remained in some intensify of drought on the Drought Monitor, almost entirely within the western one-third of the state.
The December precipitation outlook from the NWS' Climate Prediction Center (CPC) indicates increased odds of below normal moisture for Oklahoma. The outlook for temperature is much less certain with equal chances of below-, above- and near-normal temperatures during December. An extended visit by an arctic air mass does look likely for late in the first week and into the second week of the month, so that might be enough to tip the odds to the cool side. CPC's Monthly Drought Outlook for December calls for drought to persist across those areas of Oklahoma where it is already in place, but also for more development across far western Oklahoma. CPC's winter outlook for the December-February period sees increased odds of above normal temperatures, but no definitive outlook for precipitation.
Link to the December temperature and precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/
Link to the December-February temperature and precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=1
Link to the December U.S. Drought Outlook:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/monthly_drought.pdf
Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map for Oklahoma:
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdfs/20131126/20131126_OK_trd.pdf