2018

Three soaking storm systems brought much needed precipitation to the state, ending a run of up to 78 days without significant moisture for much of northern and western Oklahoma. Like last year at this time, the winter wheat crop was clamoring for a good drink of water, and fire danger was increasing with each dry, windy day. Between the three storms, virtually all areas of the state saw relief by the end of the month. The most significant storm struck just after Christmas Day and dumped 1-3 inches of rain across a good portion of the state.

Much of Oklahoma’s weather was downright boring during November – cold and dry with a few warm days in between. Despite that monotony, Mother Nature still managed to sneak in a couple of stretches of exciting weather. The first bout struck on the 12th with Oklahoma’s first significant winter storm of the season. Snow fell across the northwestern half of the state and dropped as much as 5 inches of snow. While most of it melted as it fell, enough accumulated across the far northwest to prompt a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service (NWS).

Oklahomans experienced the gamut of their state’s annual weather hazards during October. Flooding rains, extreme heat, an arctic blast, the season’s first snow, severe thunderstorms, and a slew of tornadoes – all were present during an active weather month. A weak tornado formed near Fairfax on Oct. 7, damaging roofs and power poles. Tornadoes struck again just after daybreak on Oct. 9, forming along the leading edge of a squall line moving across central Oklahoma.

Many of Oklahoma’s most extreme rainfall events have occurred during the fall, the result of a rare conjunction of meteorological ingredients converging over the Southern Plains. Those ingredients – the remnants of a pacific tropical system, a stalled front, and abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico – came together late in the month to produce massive rainfall totals across south central Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Mesonet site at Fittstown recorded 14.2 inches of rain on Sept.

Autumnal temperatures, heavy rain, and drought reduction captured the Oklahoma weather headlines during August, although the blazing voice of summer was still heard on occasion. Drought shrank considerably in both coverage and intensity during the month thanks to some well-placed heavy rains. Wind, hail and flash flooding accompanied a somewhat unusual uptick in severe weather. Flash flooding necessitated water rescues in several cities, and a Main Street bridge was washed away in Norman. The severe weather culminated with two confirmed tornadoes in Mayes and Rogers counties on Aug.

Mother Nature threw Oklahoma a Hail Mary during the final week of July, offering drought-quenching rains and a glorious preview of fall. That brief seasonal transformation followed a dose of brutal summer weather that saw highs soar above 110 degrees and the heat index hit 120. The middle two weeks were especially fierce, culminating with record-breaking heat from the 19th through the 22nd. Temperatures reached 113 degrees at the Grandfield and Tipton Mesonet sites on both the 19th and 20th.

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.

In defiance of spring, Mother Nature slipped right into summer during May, and broke a major record in doing so. Based on preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the month finished as the warmest on record with a statewide average of 74.6 degrees, 6.4 degrees above normal. The previous record of 74 degrees was set back in 1962. This abrupt transition was especially jarring coming directly after the second coolest April on record. The heat was unkind to those battling severe drought conditions, but sporadic heavy rains did lend improvements to some.

Wildfires rolled across the Oklahoma prairie for two weeks in April, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres and placing entire towns in jeopardy. The fires came on the heels of more than six months of drought in which western Oklahoma received virtually no significant precipitation. Vegetation that had seen abundant growth during 2017 lay dormant or dead, awaiting a spark. Weather conditions coalesced on the 12th and 17th to produce fire danger labeled “historic.” As feared, fires roared to life on the 12th, driven to a frenzy on winds gusting to over 50 mph.

Drought continued to punish western Oklahoma throughout March, even as eastern sections saw additional relief. Similar to February, Interstate 44 served as a rough demarcation line between the above normal totals to the southeast and paltry offerings to the northwest. The news was dire for northwestern Oklahoma, where precipitation deficits that began in early October 2017 strengthened drought impacts. Fire danger rose to critical levels almost daily.