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Thu, Apr 01, 2021

March Weather More Lamb Than Lion The first month of spring greeted Oklahoma with warmer and more tranquil weather than the historic cold and snowy February… Read More »

Mon, Mar 01, 2021

Historically Frigid February Punctuates Winter Oklahoma experienced a historic cold air event during February, boosting the month into the company of other legendary frozen periods… Read More »

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 »

News

Summer Weather Scorches September

Tue, Oct 01, 2019

September normally sees at least one or two decent cold fronts to whet the appetite for fall. Mother Nature had different plans this year, however, steering summer right past the beginning of autumn and giving Oklahoma its fourth warmest September since records began in 1895. The Panhandle experienced its warmest September on record, while the north central, southeast, and west central areas of the state had their second warmest. Tulsa ended with their second warmest September on record at 81.2 degrees, 8.2 degrees above normal. Oklahoma City’s 78.8 degrees earned them a ranking of seventh warmest at 4.9 degrees above normal. Gage suffered its warmest September since its records began, dating back to 1904. At least eight other NWS sites eclipsed their previous September monthly temperature records.

 

The statewide average temperature of 79.4 degrees – as observed by the Oklahoma Mesonet – was a whopping 7.1 degrees above normal. Only 1931’s 80.1 degrees, 1998’s 79.6 degrees, and 1939’s 79.5 degrees were higher. Triple-digit temperatures occurred as late as Sept. 27 with the Buffalo and Freedom Mesonet sites registering 101 and 100 degrees, respectively. The month’s highest temperature of 103 degrees occurred at Grandfield on the seventh. Twenty-eight readings of at least 100 degrees were reported by the Mesonet during the month. The month’s lowest reading was 48 degrees at Kenton on the 25th. The heat index was not as unbearable as it had been over the previous couple of months, but it did hit the century mark 596 times at the Mesonet’s 120 sites. A heat index of 106 degrees topped that category at six different sites. The first nine months of the year ended at 63.7 degrees, 0.3 degrees above normal to rank as the 50th warmest January-September on record.

 

Rains were both plentiful and scarce, depending upon location. The statewide average of 3.43 inches was a tenth of an inch below normal to rank as the 51st wettest September on record. Deficits of 2-4 inches were the rule across the northwest and parts of central and southeast Oklahoma. Meanwhile, surpluses of 2-5 inches occurred in the north central, northeast and southeast sections of the state. Parts of McCurtain County received more than 10 inches while the far northwest struggled to eclipse a half-inch. The Mesonet’s highest recorded total was 11.6 inches at Mt. Herman in McCurtain County. Freedom in Woodward County recorded a tenth of an inch to bring up the rear. The year continued on pace to finish as one of the top-10 wettest on record with a January-September statewide average of 37.01 inches, 8.62 inches above normal, the eighth wettest such period since records began in 1895.

 

Drought continued a slow decline after peaking in late August. By the end of September, drought had been reduced to less than 12% of the state according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, down from a high of 24% on August 20. Most of the drought was considered moderate in intensity, centered on far southwestern Oklahoma. There was a small area of severe drought in the far southwest that had been downgraded from extreme drought the previous week. The Drought Monitor’s intensity scale slides from moderate-severe-extreme-exceptional, with exceptional being the worst classification. Moderate drought increased slightly across the northwest in Ellis, Roger Mills and Woodward counties. Additionally, 16% of the state was considered in “abnormally dry” conditions, a precursor to drought intensification or an area recovering from drought but not yet back to normal.

 

The October temperature outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) indicates increased odds for above normal temperatures across the southeastern half of the United States, including Oklahoma. Those odds are greater across the southern two-thirds of the state. The October precipitation outlook shows increased odds for above normal precipitation across the northwestern one-third of Oklahoma, with better chances in the Panhandle and far northwest. CPC’s October drought outlook anticipates drought removal across the northwest and Panhandle, but persistence in southern Oklahoma.

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