December Warmth and Drought Punctuate 2025

If moisture and cold weather topped your December weather Christmas list, you likely didn’t enjoy the lump of coal Mother Nature delivered instead. December 2025 finished as Oklahoma’s second-driest and fifth-warmest on record, dating back to 1895, allowing drought to flourish once again across much of the state. The unusual warmth was especially pronounced during the week surrounding Christmas, highlighted by the warmest Christmas Day in Oklahoma history. The month’s lack of meaningful precipitation and persistent warmth not only reinforced drought conditions heading into the new year but also capped a year marked by sharp contrasts, from historic spring rains to expanding late-year dryness. Despite the dry December finish, 2025 featured an active severe-weather season earlier in the year, including a preliminary total of 105 tornadoes statewide.

December heat wave drives record-breaking warmth

December finished with a statewide average temperature of 45 degrees, 4.9 degrees above normal. The fifth-warmest December on record began on the cool side before high temperatures surged to 20 to 30 degrees above normal at times during the final two weeks of the month. Oklahoma City set four daily high-temperature records during the final nine days, while Tulsa did so five times. On Dec. 27, several sites logged their highest December temperature on record, including Tulsa and Norman at 86 degrees and Stillwater at 85 degrees. The Oklahoma Mesonet site at Mangum recorded 89 degrees on Christmas Day, the highest temperature ever observed in Oklahoma on the holiday. The December warmth helped push 2025’s statewide average temperature to 61.6 degrees, 1.2 degrees above normal, ranking the year as the 17th-warmest on record. 

December ranks among Oklahoma’s driest on record

December’s statewide average rainfall totaled just 0.11 inches, finishing 2 inches below normal and narrowly missing the driest December on record. Limited rainfall across parts of southeast Oklahoma prevented the month from surpassing 1950’s record-low average of 0.09 inches. Northeastern and east-central Oklahoma fared even worse, each recording their driest December on record with average totals of 0.03 and 0.12 inches, respectively. The Cloudy Mesonet site led the state with just 0.68 inches. Seventy-seven Mesonet sites recorded a tenth of an inch or less, and five sites reported no measurable precipitation. By the end of December, much of the state had gone 35 to 45 consecutive days without receiving at least a quarter-inch of rainfall in a single day, with some locations exceeding 70 days — a clear signal of the persistent nature of the dryness. Despite the extreme December dryness, 2025 still finished as the 21st-wettest year on record statewide with an average of 39.3 inches, 2.94 inches above normal. 

Drought coverage surges across Oklahoma

Drought expanded across Oklahoma for the third consecutive month, jumping from 33% of the state at the end of November to 54% by the end of December, up from just 5% at the end of September. Most of that growth came from the expansion of moderate drought, while higher-intensity drought levels increased by only about 3%. At 54% coverage, drought reached its highest extent in Oklahoma since Nov. 11, 2024, when 68% of the state was affected. 

December by the numbers

• Statewide average temperature: 45°F, 4.9°F above normal — the fifth-warmest December since records began in 1895
• Temperature extremes: High of 89°F at Mangum on Christmas Day; low of 7°F at Kenton on Dec. 29; lowest wind chill, –4.9°F at Foraker on Dec. 14
• Warmest and coolest locations: Highest monthly average, 49.3°F at Durant; lowest, 41.1°F at Medford
• Statewide average precipitation: 0.11 inches, 2 inches below normal — the second-driest December on record
• Rainfall extremes: High of 0.68 inches at Cloudy; low of 0 inches at five stations
• Rainfall totals under 0.25 inches: 105 instances recorded at the 120 Oklahoma Mesonet sites, including 77 sites under a tenth of an inch
• Highest wind gusts: May Ranch, Dec. 18: 58 mph; Foraker, Dec. 18: 53 mph; Camargo and Newkirk, Dec. 18: 51 mph

2025 by the numbers

• Statewide average temperature: 61.6°F, 1.2°F above normal — the 17th-warmest year since records began in 1895
• Temperature extremes: High of 111°F at Hooker on Aug. 8; low of –17°F at Beaver on Jan. 21; lowest wind chill, –33°F at Hooker on Jan. 21; highest heat index, 119°F at Bristow on Aug. 19
• Statewide average precipitation: 39.3 inches, 2.94 inches above normal — the 21st-wettest year on record
• Rainfall extremes: High of 61.33 inches at Sallisaw; low of 16.24 inches at Kenton

Drought likely to persist through January

The Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) January outlook indicates equal chances of above-, below- or near-normal precipitation across Oklahoma, along with increased odds of above-normal temperatures across all but the northeast corner of the state. The CPC’s January drought outlook calls for drought to persist in areas where it existed at the end of December.