February

Wildfires Erupt During Warm February

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.

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Historic February Tornado Outbreak Strikes Oklahoma

A potent storm system—labeled by forecasters as “historic” and “unprecedented” for February—struck Oklahoma on Feb. 26 with the full fury and power of a classic springtime severe weather outbreak. At least 10 tornadoes were confirmed during the event, with that total almost guaranteed to creep higher with further investigation by National Weather Service personnel. The preliminary total of 10 shatters the previous February record of 6 set in both 1975 and 2009. Accurate tornado records for Oklahoma date back to 1950, and the long-term average for February is 0.3.

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Wintry Weather Rules February

Three impactful winter storms struck Oklahoma during February, snarling traffic on state highways, bringing down power lines, and forcing widespread closures of businesses and schools. The first storm struck Feb. 1-3 and dumped 4-6 inches of snow over a significant portion of the state. Larger totals were scattered about, with nearly a foot of snow reported in both Hooker and Seminole. That same system covered parts of southeastern Oklahoma with up to a half-inch of freezing rain, damaging trees and power infrastructure in the area.

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Historically Frigid February Punctuates Winter

Oklahoma experienced a historic cold air event during February, boosting the month into the company of other legendary frozen periods from calendar pages long torn away and discarded. February 1895, February 1899, and January 1930 all suffered through exceedingly long cold spells. More recently, December 1983 still lives in the minds of many Oklahomans as the bellwether of cold months, which followed those winters of the late 1970s when bone-chilling cold was simply a way of life; but those cold times were more than 37 years ago.

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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 it did provide much of Oklahoma with its first decent snow of the season. A strong storm system passed through the state on February 5 and dropped sleet, freezing rain, and 4-6 inches of snow along and around the Interstate 44 corridor. Higher totals of 6-8 inches were reported in the southwest, with a few localized areas receiving as much as 10 inches.

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Winter Highlights February's Weather

Drought, fire danger, floods, severe storms, multiple bouts with freezing rain, and even a good old fashioned Plains snowstorm – Oklahoma’s weather had a little bit of everything during February. Frequent incursions of arctic air kept Oklahomans guessing what to wear from day to day, although choices from the spring wardrobe were rare. A round of severe storms marched across the state Feb. 6-7 ahead of an arctic front. Hail, damaging winds and flash flooding were reported with the storms, followed by a batch of freezing rain behind the front.

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February Rain Records Shattered

February rain records were shattered as a series of storm systems during the month’s final week brought snow, sleet and heavy rains to Oklahoma. The unsettled weather dumped a season’s worth of moisture over the southeastern half of the state and provided a brief brush with wintry weather. Kids across the state finally enjoyed a snow day or two as slippery travel shut down schools. The Oklahoma Mesonet site at Broken Bow led the state with an astounding 17.65 inches of rainfall, the highest total ever recorded in Oklahoma during February.

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February Brings Early Oklahoma Spring

If glimpses of winter were sporadic in December and January, they were downright scarce during February. Temperatures often soared into the 70s and 80s, culminating with a maximum of 99 degrees at the Mangum Mesonet site on February 11. That tied the mark for highest temperature ever recorded in Oklahoma during not only February, but winter as well. That record was set previously at Arapaho on Feb. 24, 1918. According to preliminary Mesonet data, the statewide average for February was 49.8 degrees, 7.7 degrees above normal to rank as the fourth warmest February since records began in 1895.

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The Winter That Never Was

A warm, windy and dry February, plagued by wildfires, served as a fitting epitaph for a winter that largely failed to materialize. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the month ended more than 5 degrees above normal to rank as the ninth warmest February since records began in 1895. That propelled the climatological winter, December through February, to the fourth warmest on record at nearly 4 degrees above normal.

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Winter Makes Presence Known During February

The first two weeks of February in Oklahoma were a nice preview of spring with temperatures rising at times into the 70s and 80s with just a few mildly cold days scattered here and there. The final two weeks were a different story altogether, however, as the frigid arctic air ensconced across the eastern half of the country slid its way west and into the state. The forgotten season flexed its muscles at that point with several rounds of wintry weather, punctuated during the month's final few days with several rounds of snow, sleet and freezing rain.

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