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 »
Tue, Nov 05, 2019
October's Weather Was Frightful Despite the season, spring and winter weather stole most of the headlines during October. A cold front moved through the… Read More »
Tue, Oct 01, 2019
Summer Weather Scorches September September normally sees at least one or two decent cold fronts to whet the appetite for fall. Mother Nature had… Read More »
Tue, Oct 01, 2019
Spring 2020 Mesonet OK-First Classes Spring 2020 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »
Fri, Jan 03, 2020
Warm and mostly dry December weather dashed any hopes of walking in a winter wonderland, including dreams of a white Christmas. Very little in the way of wintry weather was seen during the month, save for a couple of inches of snow in the western Panhandle and a few bouts with freezing drizzle and fog. Christmas Day itself was the second warmest on record with a statewide average temperature of 57 degrees, topped only by 2016’s 57.6 degrees and far removed from 1983’s record cold of 4.7 degrees. Spring weather took up the slack for the dearth of winter excitement. A storm system moved through on December 27-28 and brought widespread beneficial rainfall across all 77 Oklahoma counties. Severe weather struck eastern Oklahoma on the 28th and produced the year’s final tornado near Broken Arrow. The twister – rated an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale – damaged power poles, trees and a few structures. The year’s 147 tornadoes are the most in Oklahoma since accurate records began in 1950, besting 1999’s previous record total of 145. May’s 105 tornadoes made up the bulk of the year’s record total, also the highest count for any month on record in the state. Despite the record number, there were no violent tornadoes – EF4 or EF5 – in the state during 2019.
According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average precipitation total was 1.11 inches, 0.95 inches below normal to rank as the 47th driest December since records began in 1895. Far northwestern Oklahoma and the Panhandle enjoyed small surpluses to rank as their 39th and 22nd wettest Decembers on record, respectively. The southeast’s average total of 1.39 inches was 2.61 inches below normal to rank as their 14th driest. Only three of the Mesonet’s 120 sites recorded more than 2 inches of rain for the month, with Cookson leading the state at 2.36 inches. Tipton had the lowest total with 0.44 inches. Despite the dry finish, 2019 managed to end as the eighth wettest year on record with a statewide average of 44.59 inches, 8.09 inches above normal. The year was easily the wettest on record for the northeast at 62.09 inches, 19.42 inches above normal, obliterating their previous record of 57.82 inches from 1973. Miami’s 2019 total of 81.64 inches led the state and became one of the highest recorded amounts in state history, as did Jay’s 80.67 inches. The National Weather Service cooperative observing station at Daisy has the record high total of 89.69 inches from 2015. The Mesonet site at Eva reported the lowest 2019 total with 13.65 inches. Forty-nine Mesonet stations recorded at least 50 inches of rainfall for the year.
The month was substantially warmer than normal. The statewide average of 43 degrees ranked as the 11th warmest December on record, 4.1 degrees above normal. The average maximum temperatures were even higher, finishing 5-6 degrees above normal across parts of western Oklahoma. Boise City reported the highest single reading of the month at 77 degrees on the 23rd. The lowest temperature of 8 degrees came on the 17th at Kenton. That was the only single-digit reading at the Mesonet’s 120 stations during the month. The year came in exactly normal at 59.9 degrees, the 58th warmest on record. The highest temperature for 2019 was 108 degrees from Hooker on August 19, while the lowest of minus 4 degrees was recorded at Eva on November 12. The lowest calculated wind chill was minus 17 degrees at Eva on January 2, and the highest heat index of 118 degrees came at Bixby on August 26.
The rain at the end of the month managed to halt any drought progression or intensification across western Oklahoma, despite the previous absence of moisture. Drought coverage had increased from 12% to 18% during December according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, before shrinking to a little more than 10% on the year’s final report. The amount of the state in abnormally dry conditions – signaling areas in danger of progressing to drought – shrank from 39% to 24%. The greatest extent of drought during 2019 came on the August 20 Drought Monitor at 24%. Drought was absent from the state for 27 weeks throughout the year, including 15 consecutive weeks from March 19 to July 23 – the longest such streak since 2010.
The Climate Prediction Center’s January outlooks show increased odds of above normal temperatures for all of Oklahoma save for the Panhandle, with those odds being greater in southeastern Oklahoma. Odds are even for above-, below- and near-normal precipitation over the entire state. CPC’s January Drought Outlook indicates the persistence of drought in the western Panhandle and southwestern Oklahoma, although the drought’s areal coverage should decrease somewhat in those areas.