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 »
Fri, Aug 12, 2011
Grover Cleveland was serving his second term as President in 1895. Victoria was the Queen of England and Will Rogers was still a teenager. It is also the year that statewide average temperature records begin for the United States. There have been 1399 months pass by since 1895. Multiply that number by 48 and you have 67,152 months of temperature records for the contiguous states. How hot was it in Oklahoma last month? Of those statewide average temperature records for the 48 states, none has been hotter than July 2011 in Oklahoma.
According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature during July came in at 89.1 degrees, more than 7 degrees above normal. High temperatures alone were nearly 9 degrees above normal at 102.9 degrees. The National Climatic Data Center’s statewide average for July stands at 88.9 degrees with data still being collected. Both values shattered the country’s previous record of 88.1 degrees held by another legendary hot month in Oklahoma, July 1954.
The extreme heat is being fueled by one of the worst short-term droughts in state history. The drought’s beginnings date back to August 2010 but intensified beginning in the fall under the influence of La Niña. That climate phenomenon, marked by cooler than normal water temperatures in the eastern equatorial pacific, often means drier weather for the southern United States. The statewide average precipitation total of 16.73 inches since October 1, 2010, is the driest on record at nearly 14 inches below normal. Parts of southwestern Oklahoma have seen less than 6 inches of rain over that 10-month period.
The loss of soil moisture and green vegetation has combined with the summer sun to bake the state unmercifully. July was the hottest month in Oklahoma City’s history, dating back to 1890. At 75 days through Sunday, Grandfield is quickly approaching the state’s all-time record for days with highs above 100 degrees. The record is 86 days, set at Hollis in the drought-fueled summer of 1956. Unfortunately, the heat has only intensified during the first week of August. The Mesonet has recorded a statewide average temperature of 92.1 degrees over the month’s first seven days with an average high of 107 degrees and an average low of 77 degrees. The state remains on course to record its warmest summer as well. The statewide average temperature for the summer thus far is 87 degrees, easily outpacing the current record of 85.2 degrees from 1934.
Unfortunately, widespread relief has yet to appear on the horizon. The latest seasonal drought outlook from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) calls for drought to persist or intensify in Oklahoma through the end of October. Farther out, the news is just as troubling. While the La Niña event faded in late spring, the CPC issued a La Niña watch last week for possible development once again this winter. The possibility of extending the current drought further would be very bad news for a state already hit hard by the heat and a lack of rainfall.
