monthly climate summary

September's weather story was dominated by two of Oklahoma’s most damaging hazards—severe drought and a devastating hailstorm. Drought had been spreading and intensifying in the state since early summer according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and increased even further during September from 48% at the end of August to 57% by the end of the month. The area considered to be in more intense drought nearly doubled, from 18% to 33% over the same period. The worst-hit areas stretched from southwest Oklahoma to the northeast, reaching into far northeastern parts of the state.

In a display of Oklahoma’s famously chaotic weather patterns, August brought historic rains to portions of central and eastern Oklahoma while drought continued to intensify and spread over other sections of the state. A remarkable 6 to 12 inches of rain fell from northwest to central Oklahoma within 12 hours on Aug. 11, with a volunteer observer near Noble in Cleveland County recording 11.01 inches—a 500-year rainfall event according to NOAA statistics.

Oklahomans enjoyed two stretches of mild weather during July, providing brief respites from the otherwise hot conditions and a tantalizing taste of fall weather to come. Two substantial cold fronts brought cooler temperatures and moisture, keeping high temperatures 10-15 degrees below normal during these periods. Oklahoma City experienced seven consecutive days with highs below 90 degrees from July 17-23, and 10 days overall during the month. Tulsa had 11 days below 90 degrees, including six consecutive days from July 17-22.

The tornado frenzy that plagued Oklahoma in April and May completely subsided in June. After 102 tornadoes during the previous two months, including a record 55 in April, there were no tornado reports in June. However, the month didn’t lack dangerous weather, with twisters being replaced by historic rainfall, extreme heat and drought, and severe thunderstorms that left tens of thousands without power. On the night of June 25, storms plowed their way south through the state from the Kansas border in north-central Oklahoma into central Oklahoma, with winds up to 90 mph.

Oklahoma continued to suffer from severe weather in May, marking an exceptionally active spring storm season. The state recorded four more storm-related fatalities in May, bringing the total to eight in 2024, along with hundreds of injuries. At least 43 tornadoes touched down in May, following a record-breaking 55 tornadoes in April, surpassing the previous high of 54 in 2012. With two additional tornadoes in March, the preliminary total for 2024 stands at 100, a number that may rise as National Weather Service personnel continue to assess storm damage.

Severe weather roared back into Oklahoma during April with giant hail, severe winds up to 80 mph, flash flooding, and over 40 tornadoes—a number that is destined to grow with further investigation by National Weather Service damage survey teams. That total included a historic outbreak on April 27, a day where at least 22 tornadoes were confirmed to have struck the state—the second-most prolific outbreak for a single day during April on record, behind the 33 twisters back on April 14, 2011.

Oklahoma’s weather was mostly lamb during March, although it did have its lion moments. The state experienced only one true outbreak of severe weather, but that single event on March 14 was significant nonetheless with two confirmed tornadoes in McIntosh and McCurtain counties and hail greater than softball size in Ada. Remarkably, Oklahoma had gone nearly five months without a confirmed tornado since the previous two back on October 24, 2023, in Garvin and Potawatomie counties.

Wildfires tore through northwestern Oklahoma in late February, propelled by severe winds gusting to over 60 mph, relative humidity values in the teens, and temperatures soaring more than 30 degrees above normal. Over 140,000 acres were scorched in Oklahoma, with Oklahoma Emergency Management officials reporting the loss of at least 13 homes, as damage assessments continued through the month's end. Additionally, reports of lost livestock and other structures emerged.

Winter made a striking return to Oklahoma in January, surprising a state that had just experienced its fourth-warmest December on record. This frosty resurgence brought with it a myriad of wintry phenomena, including freezing fog, freezing rain, snowstorms, a blizzard warning, an ice storm warning, and the lengthiest stretch of sub-freezing temperatures since the infamous Arctic air outbreak of February 2021. Following a seasonably mild first week, Arctic air surged southward in multiple waves.

December was unusually warm across all of Oklahoma, and uncommonly wet across the northwestern third. A prolonged absence of Arctic air led to the state’s fourth warmest December since records began in 1895, and contributed to 2023’s rank as the 10th warmest calendar year. The month continued a string of Decembers with above normal temperatures in the last decade. The Decembers of 2019 and 2015 ranked as the 13th and sixth warmest across the state, respectively.