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• University of Oklahoma Presents Meteorological Recommendations to the Republic of Croatia (6/18)
• Two Oklahoma Educators Honored with Public Service Award from State Climate Agency (5/5)
• First-of-its-kind Weather Observing Network Located in Oklahoma City Unveiled Today During the National Weather Festival (11/11)
• University of Oklahoma Awarded $3.8 Million NOAA-funded Project For Climate, Drought Assessments, Planning Tools (10/8)
• Oklahoma Panhandle Drought Labeled "Exceptional" (6/19)
• University of Oklahoma Meteorology Team to Visit Croatia for Needs Assessment (6/18)
• Climate Change Statement for Oklahoma: An Official Statement of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (10/29)
• OCS Climatologist to Speak at National Convention (10/3)
• Can Parts of Oklahoma Still Be Dry? (7/30)
• 14 Percent Less Tan (6/20)
• June 2007 Now Wettest on Record Statewide (6/29)
• It was the Wettest of Times... (6/20)
• First 90-degree day in Oklahoma City (6/8)
• Drought Ends in Oklahoma (sort of) (4/5)
• El Niño Fizzles...Does Drought Return? (2/6)
• Drought Picture in Oklahoma Mixed (12/14)
• Drought Improvements (mostly) Not Warranted (12/7)
• Oklahoma Dodges a Bullet (12/4)
• Drought Remains Severe in Northwest Oklahoma (11/9)
• Crimson and, Um, Orange? OU shares Norman campus with OSU (10/26)
• Halloween Weather (10/23)
• Early Freeze for Oklahoma? (10/10)
• The Migration of Royalty (10/9)
• El Niño and Oklahoma Drought: Friend or Foe? (9/19)
• Drought in Southern Oklahoma Deemed "Exceptional" (8/30)
• July 2006 Far From Warmest For Oklahoma (7/25)
• Summer May Be Just Getting Started (7/25)
• Weekend Rain OK (6/19)
• Norman Meteorologist Travels to China (6/6)
• Out With a BANG? (5/3)
• Just A Drop in the Bucket (3/9)
• March 1 Record Temperatures (3/2)
• La Niña's Return May Spell Doom for Drought Relief (2/20)
• Oklahoma Drought Update (2/10)
• Drought: Oklahoma's Costliest Weather Hazard (1/27)
• Rain Helps Some But Drought Far From Over (1/23)
• January Burn Conditions Set Records (1/19)
• It's Not Always Warm In Oklahoma (1/12)
• Dryness Lingers On for Much of State (6/17)
• May 2004 Likely To Be State's Driest (6/1)
• Nebraska Snows and Oklahoma's Woes (2/16)
• November: Feast or Famine (12/02)
• Monthly Climate of Oklahoma - October (10/09)
• Royal Wind Vanes Visit Oklahoma (9/11)
• Monthly Climate of Oklahoma - September (9/10)
• Monthly Climate of Oklahoma - August (7/31)
• Monthly Climate of Oklahoma - July (7/7)
• Rain, Rain, Go Away (6/11)
• Oklahoma Springtime Dangers (6/8)

Rainfall records fall by the wayside
May 1, 2009

Between 10:50 a.m. Wednesday and 5:10 a.m. Thursday, the Oklahoma Mesonet site at Burneyville recorded 12.89 inches of rainfall. A momentousamount of rain no doubt, and that total is obviously going to break some records.Keep in mind as we discuss these that we are in somewhat uncertain territory due to the different periods Mesonet vs. COOP use in their measurements. There is also the distinction between 24-hour records and daily records. In the end, if we want to stick strictly to midnight-midnight periods, we have a total of 12.42 inches with this event, so we're still safe. We'll go with our "daily" total (7am-7am) of 12.89 inches where appropriate.

So let's go through what records we now believe havefallen.

Burneyville daily rainfall - All we have to go by is the Mesonet station since it appears there was never an official Burneyville NWS COOP site. The total obviously shattered the previous daily record for Burneyville, 6.62 inches set on April 28, 2006.
Burneyville monthly rainfall - The single day total was enough to best the previous monthly total of 12.01 inches from June 2004. Add in rain from earlier this month and you have a monthly total that currently stands at 15.36 inches.
Mesonet daily rainfall - The total shatters the previous daily rainfall mark recorded by the Mesonet of 9.89 inches at Cheyenne on June 14, 1996. The only other totals in view of this one would be the 9.13 inches at Fairview on September 12 of last year and the 9 inches recorded at Fort Cobb during Tropical Storm Erin's recovery on August 18, 2007. A more thorough investigation shows the Burneyville event broke the 24-hour rainfall event for the Mesonet as well. No 24-hour period in the history of the Mesonet had a greater total than 12.89 inches.
Oklahoma daily rainfall amount, any network - The total of 12.84 inches has been bested only three times in our recorded history. The rankings:
- Enid (COOP), October 11, 1973 15.68 inches
- Cheyenne (COOP), April 4, 1934 13.79 inches
- Purcell (COOP), May 11, 1950 13.58 inches
- Burneyville (Mesonet), April 29, 2009 12.89 inches
- Eufaula 2 SW (COOP), October 31, 1941 12.86 inches
- Stigler 1 SE (COOP), May 10, 1943 12.32 inches
- Hee Mountain Tower (COOP), October 13, 1972 12.30 inches
- Seminole (COOP), April 14, 1945 12.20 inches
- Meeker (COOP), June 3, 1932 12.18 inches
- Seminole (COOP), June 22, 1948 12.00 inches
Recurrence-interval totals - While these aren't records, they are a good indicator of extreme rainfall events. These are taken from Tortorelli's "Depth-Duration Frequency of Precipitation for Oklahoma" publication.
Recurrence Interval Tortorelli Total
500-Year 1-Day 12.20 12.89
500-Year 24-Hour 12.00 12.89
500-Year 12-Hour 10.80 11.73
100-Year 6-Hour 6.80 8.58
100-Year 3-Day 11.60 12.89
50-Year 7-Day 11.80 12.92

Soil Moisture
Research at OCS is concentrated on a variety of topics. However, the backbone of research at OCS is the Oklahoma Mesonet. From testing new sensors, to validating satellite measurements and model output, to participation in specialized field research programs, the Oklahoma Mesonet provides boundless opportunities for state-of-the-art research focused on Oklahoma. In turn, the knowledge gained from such research projects is used to more accurately assess and predict the onset of drought conditions, develop new technologies, and improve weather forecasting.