June

The tumultuous weather of May calmed somewhat with the transition to June, the first month of climatological summer. Despite the seasonal switch, however, there was still plenty of unsettled weather in store for Oklahoma. Western Oklahoma managed to dry out just enough to see the winter wheat harvest make significant advances by the end of the month. Other areas continued to see an active weather pattern with heavy rains, large hail, severe winds, and even tornadoes.

The Gulf of Mexico was in a giving mood throughout June, feeding a deep plume of tropical moisture to a succession of storm systems moving across Oklahoma. Not all areas were quite as fortunate as others, but a substantial portion of the state received significant, drought-reducing rainfall. The eastern Panhandle even got an unexpected boost from the remnants of hurricane Bud as it made its journey through the Gulf of California into the Northern Plains. The most prolific June rains fell from the eastern Panhandle through central and east central Oklahoma.

June, normally a pillar of Oklahoma’s spring rainy season, was very much a disappointment in that regard. Unfortunately, that lack of significant moisture fueled a quick return to drought across parts of the state. Central Oklahoma became particularly dry with deficits of more than 8 inches accumulating since the beginning of May. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the month finished with a statewide average of 2.97 inches, 1.55 inches below normal to rank as the 43rd driest June since records began in 1895.

Lack of rain and hot weather took its toll during June, allowing drought to make a comeback from central through northeastern Oklahoma. Moisture deficits dating back to late April rose to 4-8 inches across a large swath of northern and eastern Oklahoma. During that period, heavy rains inundated southern Oklahoma at times and prompted numerous flash flood warnings. To highlight the disparity in moisture, the El Reno Mesonet site in central Oklahoma recorded a scant 2.7 inches of rain since May 1 while Mangum totaled a whopping 13.5 inches in the far southwest.

Mother Nature turned off the spigot and cranked up the heat during the first 10 days of June, allowing swollen streams, rivers and reservoirs to slowly recede after the record May rains. The respite was short-lived, however, thanks to a tropical invasion from both the Pacific and Atlantic. First up was the remnant of hurricane Blanco from the Pacific that interacted with a stalled front and dumped 2-4 inches of rain over a wide swath of the state, including more than 10 inches near Hollis in far southwestern Oklahoma.