Even though it is Summer in Oklahoma, extreme heat has settled in much earlier than we had hoped. According to State Climatologist Gary McManus, “There’s a natural order of things in weather and climate that even Mother Nature tends to follow here in Oklahoma. Not always, of course. That’s where we get extremes. Extremes, like yesterday, upend the normal order of things and cause problems. We usually get a ramp-up of the heat over June into July that allows some acclimation. Not that there’s really too much acclimation to 117 degrees, but when it’s suddenly hitting the heat index maps after just a few days of oppressive heat, it’s all the more dangerous.”
So even while most Oklahomans are used to the Summer heat, McManus says extreme this early is not a normal occurrence. McManus said this is an extreme for June, and its dangerous to the health and safety of Oklahomans. We have already seen excessive heat watches start to pop up across the state, “NWS Tulsa already has part of its region in an Excessive Heat Watch for tomorrow, and expect much of the state to follow suit for Friday.”
McManus says we may also see some thunderstorms pop up across the state with the possibility of hail and high winds, “All this heat and humidity should continue generating some storms over the next few days, with severe weather a possibility later this afternoon into tonight. Chances for severe weather are highest across northern Oklahoma, but anywhere in the shaded regions have the possibility for that to occur. So stay weather-aware today.”
McManus says the rain over the past few days May help stave off some areas of the state that are starting to see flash drought, “Notice that D1 stayed about the same with around 20% of the state in moderate drought (D1). And in good news, the heavy rains in the Panhandle relieved much of the drought pressure in that area.”
Right now, McManus said statewide high temperatures have been about 5 degrees above normal over the last week or so (dark color) and that the “Normal” early June Maximum heat index isn’t the same as the late June maximum heat index. But adding in the humidity is nearly doubling that anomaly (orange color).
To read more from State Climatologist Gary McManus on his ticker, click here:
