Mesonet Ticker for August 27, 2026

                
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Eye of bull




Apologies today, my flight back from my drought meeting was delayed thanks to a
lone severe storm that hit Dallas last night so I didn't get in until about 1am.

I'm libel to be more incoherent as usual. But don't hold me liable.

We did meet about drought and after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we've
decided to come out against it. And who can blame us? I knew what this week's map
was gonna look like so I wasn't looking forward to pushing it out to you (about
as much a a porcupine giving birth to a backwards, uhhhhhhh...baby porcupine).

I'm now being told a baby porcupine is called a "porcupette?" Not sure how that
info helps us NOW, but it's imporant to get it out there. So are t's in
"important." Told ya...incoherent.

So we now have 40% of the state in at least extreme drought (D3-D4), and 12% of
the state in exceptional drought (D4), the worst category on the Drought Monitor's
intensity scale.  That's the most D3-D4 since Oct. 29, 2024, which was wiped out
shortly thereafter by the wettest November in state history. And the most
D4 alone since April 25, 2023. Taken as a whole, however, 100% of the state is
now in at least moderate (D1) drought, which we haven't seen in the state since
Nov. 1, 2022. We got close this March, but if 99% was 100%, I'd still have
gotten straight D's in college.

All of this is driven by our profound lack of rainfall and even profounder heat
we've been suffering through for the last two months, which has only gotten
worse through August. Fifth-driest last 30 days (July 28-Aug. 26) on record
statewide.

West-central Oklahoma? Driest on record.
Southwest Oklahoma? Driest on record.



But nobody's doing good, as in above normal, except for parts of the Panhandle
and far SE OK. The maps are ugly.









August itself is *probably* going to end up in the top-5 driest and hottest on
record. MAYBE the 3rd-hottest, behind August 2011 and 1936, two state's your
Mom would have a fainting spell if you told her that's who you've been hanging
out with. And only three August's in our state's climate record (back to 1895
for statewide averages) have averaged triple-digit highs for the month based
on the statewide average: 1936 (102.2), 2011 (101.6), and 1943 (100.6). Our
current statewide average high for the month is 101.0, but we are in a bit of
a lull for the next couple of days with highs only in the 90s. BRRR!!! Of
course, the heat will roar back after that with triple-digits dominating through
the first week of September.





You know our current foray into the Arctic with highs merely in the 90s, still
about 5-10 degrees above normal, right? Normal highs for this time of the year
are right around 90, give or take a degree.

We also need rain.

Rain? Heck, it's raining right now for crying out loud! Just not enough.





Not much coming either.



There is talk of a true fall cold front coming around Labor Day with much cooler
and wetter weather. I'm "laboring" to believe it though (see what I did there?).

Ya see, it doesn't rain during droughts. That how droughts work. Fall will
eventually take care of those temperatures though.

Gary McManus
State Climatologist
Oklahoma Mesonet
Oklahoma Climate Survey
gmcmanus@ou.edu
                

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