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Tue, Feb 02, 2021

Warm and Wet January Greets New Year The winter storm that began the year captured January’s biggest weather headline. The event straddled the changeover from 2020 to… Read More »

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 »

News

October's Weather Was Frightful

Tue, Nov 05, 2019

Despite the season, spring and winter weather stole most of the headlines during October. A cold front moved through the state on the sixth and dropped temperatures below normal, where they would remain for the rest of the month. Light snow fell in the Panhandle on the 11th, but the real wintry punch was yet to come. Over a foot of snow pounded the northwest on the 24th and 25th – a rare October snowstorm that shattered records. Arnett’s total of 13 inches on the 25th broke the record for highest 24-hour snow total in Oklahoma during October, and for that early in the season. Amounts from 6-10 inches were common. Winter wasn’t finished breaking records, however. A powerful cold front blasted through the state on the 28th, culminating Halloween morning with the lowest temperature ever recorded in Oklahoma during the month of October, and for that early in the season. Kenton dropped to zero degrees that day, besting the previous lowest October minimum of 3 degrees at Freedom from Oct. 29, 1993. Spring stepped in on the 20th and brought an outbreak of severe weather across eastern Oklahoma. The day saw winds of 70-80 mph, hail to the size of baseballs, and at least six confirmed tornadoes. All the tornadoes were considered weak – rated EF0 or EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale – but damaging nonetheless. The 2019 tornado count rose to 146, the most for any calendar year since accurate records began in 1950, eclipsing 1999’s previous record count of 145.

 

According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature was 56.7 degrees, 4.2 degrees below normal and ranked as the eighth coolest October on record. Those records date back to 1895. Minimum temperature records were set or tied during the month at Lawton, McAlester, and Oklahoma City. Low maximum temperature records were also set or tied at Lawton and Oklahoma City. Grandfield recorded the highest temperature of the month with 95 degrees on the fifth. The cold October brought the January-October statewide average down to 62.9 degrees, 0.2 degrees below normal – the 61st coolest such period on record.

 

Despite a dry month in the western half of the state, October still managed to finish with a moisture surplus thanks to tremendous rains across eastern Oklahoma. The statewide average was 4.80 inches, 1.26 inches above normal to rank as the 21st wettest October on record. East central Oklahoma had an average of 10.46 inches, 6.02 inches above normal, to rank as their fourth wettest October on record. The northeast and southeast sections experienced their tenth and seventh wettest Octobers, respectively. Deficits across the west generally ranged from 1-2 inches. Thirteen Mesonet sites recorded at least 10 inches of rain for the month, with Jay leading the pack at 15.8 inches. Hollis brought up the rear with 0.28 inches, joining 12 other sites that failed to reach at least an inch of precipitation. The state remained on pace to finish with one of its wettest years on record. The statewide average was 41.54 inches, 9.61 inches above normal to rank as the sixth wettest January-October on record. Northeast Oklahoma’s average total of 59.89 inches stood at 22.72 inches above normal, the wettest first 10 months of the year for that corner of the state. That 10-month total also broke their annual total record, 57.82 inches from 1973.

 

The rainfall helped improve the drought picture, and the cooler weather kept new drought development in check. Drought coverage dropped from 11% to 8% during October according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Drought did manage to spread into the western half of the Panhandle from southwest Kansas. The November drought outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) holds out hope for drought improvement in the southwest, but sees persistence of the dry conditions in the Panhandle. CPC’s November outlooks call for below normal temperatures and precipitation across eastern Oklahoma and equal odds of below-, above-, and near-normal conditions over the rest of the state.

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