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, Oct 01, 2013
Autumn returned to Oklahoma nearly right on cue during the last week of September thanks to a moisture-laden cold front. The temperatures got downright chilly with lows in the 40s and 50s and highs in the 60s and 70s for a couple of days, although temperatures zoomed back into the 80s on the month's final day. The cold front provided a brief respite to what had become, at least for most of the state, a decidedly dry and warm September. The late heroics by Mother Nature were not enough to avoid the inevitable, however, as the month finished both drier and warmer than normal. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature was 75.4 degrees, 3 degrees above normal and the 22nd warmest September since records began in 1895. The month's highest temperature, 108 degrees, occurred at Waurika on the first day of the month. Kenton was the winner of the lowest temperature contest with a reading of 39 degrees on the 28th. The last triple-digit temperatures of September, and almost certainly for the year, occurred at several locations on the eighth.
The rainfall was a bit trickier since the totals were quite variable across the state. Nevertheless, the statewide average total was 2.60 inches, 1.21 inches below normal and the 51st driest September on record. Kenton, normally one of the driest stations in the state, nearly led all Mesonet sites with a whopping 6.2 inches of rainfall, but was eventually bested by Burbank's 6.5 inches. Those two generous totals stand in stark contrast to the fortunes of most of southern Oklahoma. The Mesonet site at Tishomingo had a September total of 0.74 inches, and Hollis in the far southwest came in with the state's lowest total of 0.55 inches. The Panhandle region was the big winner with their 13th wettest September on record at more than an inch above normal. South central Oklahoma had an average total of 1.71 inches, 2.63 inches below normal to rank as the 27th driest for that area. Oklahoma City, which had been on pace to break their annual rainfall total, finally came back to earth with a total of 1.95 inches. That falls well below their normal September total of 4.06 inches. Their January-September total of 47.13 inches is still the second highest total on record for that period, trailing 2007's 49.27 inches. Oklahoma City's normal annual precipitation total is 36.52 inches. Tulsa has experienced differing fortunes during 2013, unfortunately. Their September total of 1.25 inches was 2.04 inches below normal and brought their January-September total to 25.88 inches, their 35th driest such period on record and nearly 6 inches below normal. Tulsa's normal annual total is 40.93 inches. Records for Oklahoma City and Tulsa date back to 1891 and 1894, respectively.
The widespread rains late in the month helped improve drought conditions that had been creeping throughout the state since mid-August. The U.S. Drought Monitor had gone from 38 percent of the state in drought at the end of August to 49 percent on the final September map. The southwest continued to be the hardest hit area with Jackson and Tillman counties covered by the "exceptional" drought, the worst category on the Drought Monitor intensity scale. The late-month moisture will be reflected on the first October Drought Monitor map.
The October outlooks from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) call for increased chances of above normal temperatures for the entire state, and below normal precipitation across northwestern Oklahoma. Accordingly, that led CPC to issue a drought outlook for October that sees drought persisting across those areas where it currently exists, but no intensification across the rest of the state.
Link to the October temperature and precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/
Link to the October U.S. Drought Outlook:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/monthly_drought.pdf
Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report (Oklahoma):
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/pdfs/ok_dm.pdf