Tornadoes, ice highlight January weather | News

Oklahoma’s January 2023 could have begun with a springlike bang, however it ended with a extra acceptable wintry punch. Warm weather dominated the primary three weeks of the month, and was on tempo to grow to be one of many warmest Januarys on document earlier than winter crashed the social gathering. The early spring-like weather additionally introduced Oklahoma its earliest tornadoes inside the calendar yr since correct information started in 1950.

On Jan. 2, extreme storms developed throughout northeastern Oklahoma and rapidly grew to become tornadic, producing 5 confirmed tornadoes in keeping with the National Weather Service. Not solely have been the twisters the earliest on document, however the whole was additionally the best for any January since 1950, besting the 4 touchdowns recorded in 1957, 1967, 2008, and 2021.

The 5 twisters have been usually weak, however nonetheless produced harm to properties, outbuildings, and timber. An EF-0 twister that touched down close to Pryor moved over the Oklahoma Mesonet web site there, producing a wind gust of 81 mph.

Highs within the 60s and 70s throughout January’s first three weeks have been changed with snow, sleet, and freezing rain over the month’s remaining 10 days. The first winter storm on Jan. 23-24 introduced the kind of picturesque snowfall not often seen in Oklahoma.

Temperatures hovered close to freezing within the state, which helped produce snowflakes to the dimensions of half-dollars that fell right into a close to windless atmosphere, an oddity on most days in Oklahoma. West central Oklahoma noticed 6-8 inches of snow with Erick main the state at 8.9 inches.

Locations in central and jap Oklahoma reported 4-6 inches, and almost everyone noticed at the least some snow, albeit briefly. The second winter storm struck just some days later, however this model was accompanied by frigid arctic air with highs within the teenagers and 20s and wind chills within the single digits to under zero. There have been two separate waves of frozen precipitation over the month’s remaining two days.

Thunder-sleet greeted Oklahomans to start out the day on the thirtieth, the convective exercise dumping 1-1.5 inches of sleet alongside the Interstate 44 hall. Freezing rain fell throughout southern Oklahoma, sufficient to glaze timber and different uncovered objects. The second spherical early on the thirty first introduced extra sleet and freezing rain throughout southern and central Oklahoma, however not fairly as widespread as the day before today.

The statewide common temperature completed at 41.9 levels for the month, 3.6 levels above regular and ranked because the fifteenth warmest January since information started in 1895. The highest studying of the month, 85 levels, was recorded at Burneyville on the eleventh. Temperatures of at the least 80 levels have been recorded 14 occasions throughout three days on the 120 Mesonet websites, and at the least 70 levels 374 occasions on 10 separate days. The lowest January temperature was 2 levels at Boise City on Jan. 30 and once more at Eva on Jan. 31. The lowest wind chill was minus 14 levels at Eva, Goodwell, and Hooker, all on Jan. 30.

Statewide common precipitation completed with a preliminary whole of 1.17 inches for the month, 0.4 inches under regular and ranked because the 58th driest January since information started in 1895. That month-to-month whole was anticipated to rise as frozen precipitation continued to soften and be accounted for throughout a lot of the southeastern two-thirds of the state.

Far jap Oklahoma had the best totals of 3-4 inches, with just a few localized areas with 4-5 inches evident on radar estimates. Much of the western half of the state ended with lower than an inch of precipitation, the Mesonet web site at Eva’s 0.14 inches citing the rear.

There was little change in Oklahoma’s drought scenario in January, with 89% of the state in at the least reasonable drought on the finish of the month in keeping with the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Climate Prediction Center’s February precipitation outlook signifies elevated odds for above regular precipitation throughout the jap four-fifths of the state, however particularly for the jap one-third of Oklahoma.

The temperature outlook exhibits elevated odds of above regular temperatures for a lot southeastern Oklahoma. The hopeful precipitation outlook results in CPC’s February drought forecast of enhancements throughout the jap one-third of the state. Drought is predicted to persist throughout the western two-thirds, nevertheless.