July

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.

It was not the wettest July on record in Oklahoma, at least not on a statewide basis. That mark belongs to 1950's statewide average of 9.26 inches. Nor was it the coolest. That title is held by 1906's statewide average of 75.9 degrees. Nevertheless, this July will be remembered as one of the wettest and mildest in recent memory, especially compared to the blast furnace versions of the last few summers. It featured a July 4th holiday with highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s, and enough rain to kick drought to the curb across much of the state.

Heat exploded across Oklahoma during July thanks to a rapidly intensifying drought and a persistent upper-level ridge of high pressure. The combination of dry soils, wilting vegetation and a brutal summer sun led to the sixth warmest July on record for the state. Those records date back to 1895. According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the statewide average temperature finished at 85.9 degrees, 4.3 degrees above normal. July becomes the 23rd month out of the last 28 to finish warmer than normal, a persistent signal that began in April 2010.

Fueled by exceptional drought and a seemingly impenetrable heat-dome, July roared through Oklahoma’s legendary heat waves of the past to become the state’s hottest calendar month on record. According to data from the Oklahoma Mesonet, the July statewide average temperature finished 7.5 degrees above normal at 89.1 degrees, smashing the previous record of 88.1 degrees set back in July 1954. Statewide averages date back to 1895. The news was equally grim on the rainfall side of the ledger.