In a display of Oklahoma’s famously chaotic weather patterns, August brought historic rains to portions of central and eastern Oklahoma while drought continued to intensify and spread over other sections of the state. A remarkable 6 to 12 inches of rain fell from northwest to central Oklahoma within 12 hours on Aug. 11, with a volunteer observer near Noble in Cleveland County recording 11.01 inches—a 500-year rainfall event according to NOAA statistics.
Oklahoma tried its best Al Pacino impression from “The Godfather Part III” during August, being pulled back into drought after nearly escaping its clutches completely thanks to record moisture the previous three months. The heat and dry weather roared back with a vengeance, however, and flash drought erupted for the second consecutive summer. Only 13% of the state was in drought on Aug. 8 according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, contained entirely in small patches across far southwestern and north central Oklahoma.
August’s heat and drought appeared ferocious at first, with widespread triple-digit temperatures and moisture deficits throughout the first half of the month. A strong cold front signaled a pattern change, however, and the heat settled into more seasonable levels for the last half of the month. On the whole, August was still well above normal and contributed to the hottest climatological summer seen in the state since 2011.
A run of hot, dry weather finished off climatological summer in true Oklahoma fashion following a delightfully mild first two months of the season. There was very little in the way of severe weather during the month, just a smattering of hail and high wind reports scattered about the state. A hazard of another kind managed to flourish in the arid conditions, however, with drought once again gaining a toehold across parts of northwestern Oklahoma. The USDA indicated 43% of the state’s topsoil was considered short to very short of moisture by the end of the month.
Three strong cold fronts brought the summer heat to its knees during August, but drought took advantage of a mostly dry month to proliferate across western Oklahoma. The far southeast was anything but parched, however, after several rounds of heavy precipitation and a brush with the outskirts of Hurricane Laura left it with nearly a foot of rain for the month. There were sporadic outbursts of severe weather during August.
Drought had gained a toehold across western and central Oklahoma during a hot, dry first half of August; further spread and intensification seemed inevitable. All the while eastern Oklahoma was being inundated by heavy rains and flooding. Then the rains spread west, bringing a hefty dose of severe weather and drought relief with them. Mother Nature put an exclamation point on the tumultuous weather on August 26. A stifling day with temperatures in the 100s saw the heat index soar as high as 118 degrees before severe storms – including an EF-1 tornado – blasted the state later that evening.
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.
August is often Oklahoma’s most brutal summer month. The spring rains become a distant memory, heat gains momentum through July, and the state’s landscape turns a sickly shade of yellow. With drought intensifying along with the heat this summer, August looked bleak once again. However, Mother Nature was in a charitable mood. The upper-level heat dome – a common visitor to the Southern Plains in late summer – shifted to the west and brought Oklahoma under northwesterly flow aloft.
Autumn didn’t fully arrive during August, but it sure gave Oklahomans a nice preview for a week during the middle of the month. It was enough of a sneak peek to keep the month’s statewide average temperature at about a half-degree below normal. Unfortunately, the autumnal preview was flanked by some downright miserable summer weather. Those summer bookends came with plenty of triple-digit temperatures and even more triple-digit heat indexes. Grandfield led the state with 106 degrees recorded on the third. Meanwhile, it was jacket weather at Bristow with a low of 48 degrees on the 22nd.
Many a rainy summer has stared into the unyielding gaze of August and faltered. Coming off the wettest May-July period on record for Oklahoma, this August was met with similar expectations. In that regard, however, it was an unmitigated failure with preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet indicating a statewide average of 2.3 inches. That is more than half an inch below normal and ranks the month as the 46th driest August on record, dating back to 1895. The northeast saw a surplus of more than 1.7 inches to rank as the 24th wettest August for that area.