2017

Oklahoma’s seemingly endless supply of mild weather came to an abrupt halt during the third week of December, ushering in a frigid end to a warm 2017. A bulge in the jet stream allowed frosty air to plunge southward and place most of the country into an arctic deep freeze. Oklahoma’s introduction to the cold air came on Dec. 21 and lasted through the end of the year. Highs in the 60s and even a few 70s were common during the first three weeks of December, topped by a high of 83 degrees at three Mesonet sites in southwest Oklahoma on the fourth.

Drought flourished across Oklahoma over the past month, fed by one of the state’s driest and warmest Novembers on record. Six of the Oklahoma Mesonet’s 120 stations recorded no precipitation for the month, and another 77 recorded a quarter of an inch or less. High temperatures rose into the 70s and 80s with regularity. The temperature at the Altus and Mangum Mesonet sites soared to 94 degrees on the 17th, the second highest November temperature on record in Oklahoma, dating back to 1892. It was also the highest temperature ever recorded in the state that late in the calendar year.

October’s weather was highly variable, and a bit too exciting at times as is usually the case during this transition period from summer to winter. Temperatures ranged from the teens to the 90s and rainfall totals fluctuated from double-digits to less than a quarter-inch. Flurries in the Panhandle as early as Oct. 11 brought the state its first snow of the season, although the sleds remained stored in the attic. The last of several cold fronts during the month provided trick-or-treaters with a chilly and sometimes damp search for candy.