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 »
Thu, Aug 01, 2019
Drought returned to the state for the first time since March 12, a stark reminder that spring deluges can quickly be forgotten during the unforgiving Oklahoma summer. The abrupt end of the moisture actually extended back to mid-June in some areas, but the deficits widened further during July. The lack of rain coincided with intermittent periods of hot, windy weather. Those sporadic bouts of extreme summer conditions helped to accelerate the drought development process, despite the month being cooler than normal overall. Severe weather still made its presence known with reports of the customary culprits, including high winds, large hail, and flash flooding. There were no official reports of tornadoes. The preliminary Oklahoma twister count for 2019 stood at 129 at the end of July, the second highest total since accurate records began in 1950. The highest total of 145 occurred in 1999.
According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average rainfall total was 1.63 inches, 1.25 inches below normal, to rank as the 29th driest July since records began in 1895. Rainfall fortunes varied widely across the state. Substantial rains fell across much of eastern Oklahoma, where totals of 3-5 inches were common. Copan led the Mesonet at 5.81 inches, with Wister a close second at 5.35 inches. Significant deficits reigned across much of central and western Oklahoma. Forty-five of the Mesonet’s 120 stations recorded less than an inch of rain for the month, while 87 received less than 2 inches. Chickasha had the lowest total at 0.03 inches, although Minco was close behind with 0.04 inches. The Oklahoma City official observing site at Will Rogers Airport recorded 0.06 inches, tied for its fourth driest July on record. By the end of July, parts of north central Oklahoma had gone 45 days without at least a quarter-inch of rainfall. That streak extended to 38 days across central and southwestern Oklahoma. Chickasha, Hobart and Minco had gone 38 consecutive days without at least a tenth of an inch. The first seven months of the year were still extremely wet with a January-July statewide average of 27.86 inches, a surplus of 5.95 inches and the ninth wettest such period on record.
The statewide average temperature was 80.2 degrees, 1.3 degrees below normal to rank as the 34th coolest July on record. Several cold fronts helped keep the extreme heat confined within shorter windows. The strongest of those fronts moved through the state on the 22nd, dropping high temperatures into the low 80s. Lows in the 50s were common, and Camargo dropped to 48 degrees on the 24th for the month’s lowest reading. More than a dozen low temperature records were set across the state that morning. Extreme heat still visited at times, however. Kenton recorded July’s highest temperature at 107 degrees on the 19th. The Mesonet measured heat index values of at least 110 degrees 154 times during the month, maxing out at 116 degrees at Burneyville on July 10. The year continues to run on the cool side. The January-July statewide average was 58.6 degrees, a degree below normal, to rank as the 42nd coolest such period on record.
Nearly 6% of the state was in moderate drought according to the July 30 U.S. Drought Monitor report, and another 13% was considered “abnormally dry,” a drought precursor. Those designations cover most of the southwestern quarter of the state, with another dollop centered over Ellis County in the northwest. Drought development is considered likely across the western two-thirds of the state through the end of August according to the Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) monthly drought outlook. That drought development would be in addition to those areas that saw drought advance by the end of July. CPC’s temperature and precipitation outlooks for August indicate increased odds of above normal temperatures across the southwestern one-third of the state, and above normal precipitation over far northeastern Oklahoma.
