Oklahoma monthly climate summary, 11/2012

              Copyright © 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Monthly Climate Summary 1
Drought surged during November with a return to the dry,
warm and windy weather pattern that Oklahoma has become
accustomed to over the last couple of years. According to the
latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, the amount of extreme
to exceptional drought rose from 72 percent last week to 91
percent this week. The state had not seen that amount of
extreme to exceptional drought since late September. Other
than a small but persistent area of moderate drought in far
northeastern Oklahoma, the entire state remained in at least
severe drought according to the report. The Drought Monitor’s
intensity scale slides from moderate-severe-extreme-exceptional,
with exceptional being the worst category. The
bulk of that increase came across areas in southern and
eastern Oklahoma that had been categorized in severe drought
since September.
The statewide average temperature finished at 52.4 degrees,
3.4 degrees above normal and the 12th warmest November
since 1895. November also became the 26th month out of the
last 32 to finish warmer than normal, dating back to April 2010.
Oklahoma’s 2012 January-November average temperature
remained approximately two-tenths of a degree ahead of 1954
in a race to break the record for warmest calendar year.
NOVEMBER 2012
Oklahoma Monthly Climate Summary
November 2012 Statewide Extremes
Description Extreme Station Day
High Temperature 89ºF Multiple 2
Low Temperature 12ºF Beaver 27
High Precipitation 1.33 in. Copan --
Low Precipitation 0.00 in. Multiple --
November 2012 Statewide Statistics
Temperature
Average Depart. Rank (1895-2012)
Month
(November)
52.4ºF 4.1ºF 12th Warmest
Season-to-
Date (Sept
- Nov)
62.0ºF 1.3ºF 39th Warmest
Year-to-Date
(Jan-Nov)
65.0ºF 3.5ºF 1st Warmest
Precipitation
Average Depart. Rank (1895-2012)
Month
(November)
0.57 in. -2.25 in. 21st Driest
Season-to-Date
(Sept-Nov)
4.75 in. -5.26 in. 17th Driest
Year-to-Date
(Jan-Nov)
25.45 in. -9.22 in. 15th Driest
Depart. = departure from 30-year normal
the excellent category. Eleven of the state’s major reservoirs
are at less than 70 percent of normal capacity, with an
additional eight being below 80 percent. Lake Altus-Lugert is
in the worst shape at 17 percent of capacity.
The month was also exceedingly dry, a continuation of what
the state had seen since May. The Mesonet’s statewide
average total for the month was 0.57 inches, more than 2
inches below normal and the 21st driest November on record.
This November stands in stark contrast to last year’s version,
which ended as the 12th wettest on record at nearly 2 inches
above normal. The current span of particularly dry weather
extends=ed farther back than the beginning of November.
According to preliminary data from the Oklahoma Mesonet
and the National Climatic Data Center, the statewide average
rainfall total for May through November was 13.48 inches, the
second driest such period on record in Oklahoma. The only
drier May through November was 1952’s 13.34 inches.
The combination of wind, warmth and lack of rainfall
accelerated the loss of moisture from the state’s soils and
reservoirs, and impeded the progress of the winter wheat
crop. The November 26 weekly crop update from the USDA’s
Oklahoma office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service
noted that the state’s topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions
were rated 95 percent and 97 percent poor to very poor,
respectively. The report also indicated that only 13 percent of
the winter wheat crop was rated as good, with one percent in