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, Sep 05, 2019
August Rains Tackle Drought Drought had gained a toehold across western and central Oklahoma during a hot, dry first half of August; further spread… Read More »
Thu, Aug 22, 2019
Fall 2019 Training Workshops for OK-FIRE Announced Operational since 2006, OK-FIRE is a weather-based decision-support system for wildland fire management. OK-FIRE uses the Oklahoma Mesonet for current/recent… Read More »
Thu, Aug 01, 2019
Drought Returns During July Drought returned to the state for the first time since March 12, a stark reminder that spring deluges can quickly… Read More »
Mon, Jul 01, 2019
Unsettled Weather Continues During June The tumultuous weather of May calmed somewhat with the transition to June, the first month of climatological summer. Despite the… Read More »
Mon, Jun 03, 2019
May Weather Brings Disaster to Oklahoma Tornadoes and flooding battled it out for Oklahoma’s top weather headline during May 2019, with both combatants bringing mayhem and… Read More »
Wed, May 01, 2019
Severe Weather Punctuates April Following a few brief glimpses in March, spring finally arrived in earnest during April. The month was wet for most… Read More »
Wed, May 01, 2019
Fall 2019 Mesonet OK-First Classes Fall 2019 OK-First classes are open for enrollment. We are offering 10 classes including 1 Certification class (4 days), 1… Read More »
Thu, Aug 22, 2019
Operational since 2006, OK-FIRE is a weather-based decision-support system for wildland fire management. OK-FIRE uses the Oklahoma Mesonet for current/recent conditions and an 84-hour forecast to predict fire weather, fire danger, and smoke dispersion conditions out to three days in the future. Accordingly, with respect to wildfire, OK-FIRE is useful for monitoring not only current fire danger conditions, but also, with its predictive component, for suppression strategies on existing fires and assessing fire danger potential over the next three days, which can aid in determining staffing levels. With respect to prescribed fire, the system can be used to safely plan for and monitor conditions during a prescribed burn.
OK-FIRE is pleased to announce its fall schedule of training. Workshops will consist of 6 hours of training (with an hour break for lunch) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They will be led by Dr. J. D. Carlson, OSU fire meteorologist and OK-FIRE Program Manager, and consist of a combination of presentations and lab exercises in which attendees will get hands-on experience with the OK-FIRE website. Attendees will need to bring their own laptop computers or tablets. Since space is limited for these workshops, only those who work directly (or indirectly) with wildland fire (wildfire and/or prescribed fire) should attend. Below is a list of the locations and dates for this fall's workshops:
EL RENO Thu, Oct. 3
WOODWARD Thu, Oct. 24
DURANT Thu, Nov. 14
STILLWATER Thu, Dec. 12
Registration is required and can be done online by clicking here or by contacting Andrea Melvin (andrea@mesonet.org; 405-325-2652) at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Applications will be accepted up until the Friday before each workshop or until space is filled up, whichever occurs sooner. There is no cost for the workshops, aside from travel costs to and from the location. More information about each workshop (including directions) will be sent out the Monday before each workshop date. Workshops will be filled on a first register, first served basis. Please note again that these workshops are designed only for those who directly or indirectly work with wildland fire, and only those who fall into these categories should register. The workshops will have similar content to those of last fall.
Attendees will learn about the fire weather, fire danger, and smoke dispersion products available on OK-FIRE, how to use them, and how to access past, current, and forecast values via maps, charts, and tables. Wildfire, prescribed fire, and smoke applications will be covered.
Dr. J. D. Carlson
OK-FIRE Program Manager
Oklahoma State University
