July Begins with Destructive Winds, Ends in a Heat Wave

Mother Nature supplied fireworks of her own on July 4 as a destructive windstorm swept across Oklahoma, with Norman hardest hit. The month closed under a punishing heat wave, with widespread triple-digit temperatures during its final third. Between those dramatic bookends, rainfall fell short across most of the state and drought coverage held nearly steady at about 44%, setting the stage for heightened drought concerns in August. 

Independence Day storms batter Oklahoma

A powerful complex of thunderstorms swept through Oklahoma late on July 4, producing widespread destructive straight-line winds. Norman took the brunt of the storm, with measured wind gusts reaching 92 mph at Max Westheimer Airport and 90.5 mph at the Norman Mesonet site shortly after 10 p.m. The Mesonet gust ranked 41st on the network’s all-time list, which dates to 1994. The severity of the damage suggested localized winds may have exceeded 100 mph. Trees were uprooted or snapped, power poles and lines were toppled, homes and other structures were damaged, and a tractor-trailer was blown onto its side. 

Norman was not the only area hit hard. Earlier that evening, severe storms swept across northeastern Oklahoma, damaging trees and utility infrastructure around Tulsa, Nowata and Bartlesville. At the height of the outages, approximately 95,000 customers were without power statewide. PSO reported a peak of 24,522 customers without power, while OG&E and electric cooperatives also reported widespread outages across their service territories. OG&E alone reported 44 downed poles in Norman, while OEC reported snapped poles and extensive damage to electric and fiber infrastructure across Cleveland County. 

Drought coverage holds steady despite hot, dry July

July brought widespread heat and rainfall deficits to Oklahoma. The statewide average temperature finished at 83.9°F, 2°F above normal, ranking as the 20th-warmest July since records began in 1895. The statewide average rainfall total was 1.64 inches, 1.56 inches below normal, ranking as the 30th-driest July on record. Most of the state received below-normal rainfall, with the largest deficits across western and northern Oklahoma. Scattered portions of central and eastern Oklahoma benefited from heavier totals.

The heat became especially intense during the final third of the month, when triple-digit temperatures spread across much of the state. On July 21, Okmulgee’s heat index reached 125.2°F, the sixth-highest daily maximum in Mesonet records dating to 1997. The reading resulted from an air temperature of 95.3°F and a dew point of 84.6°F, the fifth-highest dew point recorded by the network. Six days later, Hooker reached 111°F for the month’s highest air temperature. Despite the heat and meager rainfall, drought coverage remained virtually unchanged at about 44%. Localized improvements and degradations largely offset one another, leaving the statewide drought statistics in an unusual midsummer stalemate. 

July by the numbers

• Statewide average temperature: 83.9°F, 2.0°F above normal — 20th-warmest July since 1895
• Temperature extremes: High of 111°F at Hooker on July 27; low of 57°F at Eva on July 6
• Highest heat index: 125°F at Okmulgee on July 21
• 100-degree temperatures: 954 observations recorded at the 120 Oklahoma Mesonet sites, including 250 at or above 105°F
• 100-degree heat index values: 2,437 readings, including 536 at or above 110°F
• Warmest and coolest locations: Highest monthly average, 87.6°F at Grandfield; lowest, 80.0°F at Kenton
• Statewide average precipitation: 1.64 inches, 1.56 inches below normal — 30th-driest July since 1895
• Rainfall extremes: High of 5.84 inches at Bristow; low of 0.07 inches at Tipton
• Rainfall totals 2 inches or less: 82 sites, including 37 at or below 1 inch

August outlook raises flash drought concerns

The Climate Prediction Center’s August outlook favors above-normal temperatures across Oklahoma and below-normal precipitation across much of the Southern Plains, a combination that raises the threat of rapidly worsening drought conditions. CPC’s monthly drought outlook calls for drought to persist where it already exists and for rapid drought development across all areas of Oklahoma not already in drought, citing growing 30- to 60-day rainfall deficits and rapidly declining soil moisture. The concern extends into mid-August, with CPC’s Week 2 hazards outlook highlighting parts of Oklahoma and the surrounding Southern Plains for rapid-onset drought as continued heat and dryness increase evaporative demand.