2014

Winter was noticeably absent through much of December, a deceptively warm month that ended more than 2 degrees above normal to rank as the 38th warmest since records began in 1895. The season finally lived up to its name during the month's final week, however, with a swath of 3-5 inches of snow along the I-44 corridor in southwestern Oklahoma, along with another icy plunge to ring in the New Year. New Year's Eve was celebrated with patches of freezing drizzle, snow, sleet and below-zero wind chills.

Oklahoma’s weather during November was both simplistic and momentous. It began and ended on the warm side, and had a good dose of January thrown in during the middle. That’s the simplified version, of course. As is often the case with Oklahoma weather, however, the excitement lies in the details. A big rain late in the month provided some drought-quenching exhilaration, and the strong arctic cold front on November's final day was a non-gentle reminder of the season.

One weekend of heavy rain brightened the fortunes of some Oklahomans during October while others continued on in the embrace of significant drought. Eastern Oklahoma, especially the far northeast corner, came out the big winner in the moisture sweepstakes. Those across the western half of the state, particularly southwest Oklahoma, were not so lucky. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average rainfall total for the month was 3.42 inches, just a tad above normal and the 41st wettest October since records began in 1895.

Hopes were high for much-needed rainfall across Oklahoma after August's disappointing totals. June and July were exceedingly wet, lending optimism that August's step back would be but a brief interruption. Unfortunately, that script did not play out as written and September became yet another dry month in the now four-year-old drought. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average rainfall total was 2.6 inches, 1.3 inches below normal and the 46th driest September since records began in 1895.

August made a valiant effort to continue the unusually cool and remarkably wet conditions of June and July and place a final exclamation point on one of the more enjoyable Oklahoma summers in recent memory. Unfortunately, that message was lost during the month's final two weeks as the heat and dry weather of a normal Oklahoma summer found their way back to the state.

Sometime around the third week of May, with wildfires scorching the state and drought continuing to intensify, Oklahomans were in search of a miracle. The spring rainy season at that point seemed like a figment of Mother Nature's imagination amongst one of the driest January-May periods in state history. Finally, the miracle did arrive in the form of an upper-level low pressure system that brought the state some of its most substantial moisture since the previous fall. That system turned on the spigot and the moisture has continued largely unabated since that point.

Although the spring rainy season got a late start in 2014, not arriving in earnest until the third week of May, it continued with sustained vigor through the last day of June. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the month finished as the 23rd wettest June on record for the state with an average total of 5.82 inches, a surplus of 1.56 inches. Those records date back to 1895. North central Oklahoma, one of the areas hit hardest by drought since the beginning of the year, saw its fifth wettest June with an average of 8.18 inches, 4.24 inches above normal.