2017

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.

January 2017 would have been remembered as exceedingly warm and dull if not for the visit from a powerful mid-month winter storm. The storm struck over the weekend of Jan. 13-15 and prompted a State of Emergency declaration for all 77 counties by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin. An unusually moisture-laden weather system for January, the storm left the northwestern half of the state encased in ice and the southeastern half waterlogged.