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 »
Tue, Sep 01, 2015
Many a rainy summer has stared into the unyielding gaze of August and faltered. Coming off the wettest May-July period on record for Oklahoma, this August was met with similar expectations. In that regard, however, it was an unmitigated failure with preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet indicating a statewide average of 2.3 inches. That is more than half an inch below normal and ranks the month as the 46th driest August on record, dating back to 1895. The northeast saw a surplus of more than 1.7 inches to rank as the 24th wettest August for that area. South central Oklahoma, the epicenter of the extreme rains from the previous few months, dried out considerably with a deficit of more than 2.1 inches and ranked as the seventh driest. Miami led the state with 8.51 inches of rain, which is more than 5 inches above normal for that location. Madill, in far south central Oklahoma, barely wet the gauge with 0.04 inches. That is a stark contrast to the 43.71 inches of rain Madill received April-July, including 23.25 inches in May alone.
August’s rain totals might have diminished the climatological summer’s (June-August) ranking, but the season still finished as the 28th wettest on record with a statewide average of 12.13 inches, 1.78 inches above normal. Much of that wetter than normal weather was concentrated from south central through northeast Oklahoma. The southeast and southwest were drier than normal. The year still leads 1957 in the race to finish as the wettest on record for Oklahoma. The 2015 January-August statewide average was 36.19 inches, 11.33 inches above normal and 0.32 inches ahead of 1957’s mark. That leaves 2015 just 11.69 inches off 1957’s calendar year record total of 47.88 inches. The final four months of the year average 12.07 inches of precipitation, so even a slightly below normal finish to the year can still garner 2015 the record.
The outlooks called for a cooler than normal August, and those prognostications were prophetic with a statewide average of 78.8 degrees. That’s 2 degrees below normal to rank the month as the 24th coolest August on record. Of course, that’s not the entire story with the temperature data, as is often the case. High temperatures ranged from a maximum of 107 degrees at Hollis on the sixth to a chilly 68 degrees at Boise City on the 23rd. The former occurred during a period of above normal temperatures and the latter following an unusually strong cold front for that part of the year. That cold front was also apparent in the minimum temperatures readings. El Reno got down to an October-like 47 degrees on the 20th, and many other Mesonet sites reached lows in the 40s or lower 50s on the 19th and 20th. Record lows were set at Oklahoma City, Muskogee, McAlester and Bartlesville on the 20th according to National Weather Service (NWS) reports. The cool weather continued for several more days with additional record lows reported through the 25th. The first week of the month was a scorcher, nevertheless. The Mesonet recorded 143 instances of heat index values of 110 degrees or more during that period, including a miserable 117 degrees at Eufaula and Okmulgee on the seventh. On the month’s final day, temperatures had reached into the mid- to upper-90s across much of the western half of the state, and even a triple-digit reading at Freedom. The summer and January-August statewide average temperatures were both near normal.
With the dry conditions mounting across the southeast, flash drought conditions continued to intensify in that region. Dead and dormant vegetation, desiccated soils and flagging streamflows were some of the key indicators of the spreading hazard. By the end of August, more than 18 percent of the state was considered in at least abnormally dry conditions according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and nearly 9 percent in moderate drought. There were no drought or abnormally dry designations in Oklahoma at the end of July.
Drought is expected to persist or even intensify through September where it exists now across the southeast, with some development likely farther to the west and north, according to the Climate Prediction Center (CPC). The CPC sees increased odds for above normal temperatures across far eastern Oklahoma during September, with similar odds for above normal precipitation in the northwestern half of the state, especially the Panhandle.