Mesonet Ticker for October 1, 2026

                
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October 1, 2026    October 1, 2026    October 1, 2026    October 1, 2026


Splish splash




When I was a kid, you REALLY won the sweepstakes if Ed McMahon showed up at
your door. Now I'd just kill for that hair he had. But sometimes winning is
losing, like down in south-central Oklahoma where 8+ inches of rain has
fallen with widespread flooding.



You like swimming to work, Claude? I thought so. Heck, it's raining down there
right now, for crying out loud!



But this rain will put a lot right, but even so, a lot of folks need a lot more.
We can take an assessment of where we are after things have calmed down. The big
news for me as a lawn-owner (and a lawn-mower) is that Norman received .95
inches of rain. But the big news for me as a climatologist is the way we
shattered out statewide-average September temperature record!

We blasted the previous warmest September on record from back in 1931 by 2.7
degrees! And our 82.8 degrees was 9.9 degrees above normal!

Flabbergasting! Astounding! I haven't seen a month this much above normal and
above the second-place finisher since December 2021 bested its previous
record by an even more astounding 5.3 degrees. Even July 2021 was only 1.1
degrees ahead of second place.

So December 2021 is the most anomalously above normal month in state history,
but September 2026 comes in second place.

How about the coldest? Easy. December 1983 with a statewide average of 25.7
degrees, 5.2 degrees below second place tie'rs 1909 and 2000. That's
equally astounding.

Well, we have more astounding facts below in our September monthly summary,
and trust me (no, really), there are LOTS of them.

Oh, you don't want to read all that? Astounding!

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September scorches Oklahoma, then delivers a splash of hope
Oct. 1, 2026

The drought and relentless heat that plagued Oklahoma for months reached a
crescendo during September before a rare guest came calling from the Pacific
Ocean during the month’s final two days. Moisture from the remnants of
Hurricane Polo spread across the High Plains and interacted with a large upper-
level trough to help bring long-awaited, widespread rain to Oklahoma. By then,
however, the damage was done. The month shattered Oklahoma’s previous September
temperature record by nearly 3 degrees, while extreme and exceptional drought
expanded to their greatest combined coverage since February 2023.

September shatters heat records
September’s statewide average temperature of 82.8 degrees was 9.9 degrees above
normal, shattering the previous September record of 80.1 degrees set in 1931 by
2.7 degrees. Talihina and Waurika led the state with 19 days of temperatures
reaching at least 100 degrees. Grandfield recorded the month’s highest
temperature, 109 degrees on Sept. 12, while Clayton registered the highest heat
index, 116 degrees on Sept. 6. The month’s lowest temperature was 52 degrees
at Eva on Sept. 28.

The heat also took a toll on Oklahoma’s record books. A preliminary review of
21 long-term station histories identified at least 216 daily temperature
records set or tied during September, including 101 record highs and 115 record
warm lows. Combined with August’s tally, that brought the two-month total to
at least 356 daily heat records set or tied. Oklahoma City broke eight daily
high or warm-low records and tied five others during September, while Tulsa
broke five and tied five. Tulsa’s low of 83 degrees on Sept. 9 was its warmest
daily minimum ever recorded in September dating back to 1905, surpassing the
previous record of 82 degrees.

September’s extraordinary warmth extended an already historic stretch of heat.
Oklahoma’s January–September average temperature reached 68.7 degrees, 4.9
degrees above normal, barreling past the previous record of 67.1 degrees set in
2012 by 1.6 degrees. Oklahoma’s warmest February, March and September on record
have all occurred in 2026.





Drought deepens under record heat
September’s record heat accelerated Oklahoma’s drought, intensifying the
prolonged dryness in western Oklahoma and worsening the drought that had
spread rapidly across central and eastern sections during summer. Nearly the
entire state remained in drought, with extreme and exceptional drought
expanding from 41% of Oklahoma at the beginning of September to 55% by month’s
end, its greatest coverage since February 2023. Exceptional drought, the U.S.
Drought Monitor’s most intense category, nearly doubled from 12% to 24%,
encompassing substantial portions of western Oklahoma and parts of the south.
That was its greatest extent since October 2022. The month’s final Drought
Monitor assessment preceded much of the rain that arrived during September’s
final two days.

The drought’s toll extended well beyond the map. Farmers and ranchers reported
depleted pastures, drying ponds and creeks, early hay feeding and livestock
sales. Some producers moved cattle to pastures with remaining water, while
others reported animals becoming trapped in pond mud. Producers also reported
delayed wheat planting, sharply reduced hay production and poor soybean yield
prospects. Reservoir levels reflected the prolonged dryness, with Lugert-Altus
about 23 feet below normal pool elevation and Ellsworth about 10 feet short
late in the month. Heightened wildfire danger prompted burn bans covering at
least 61 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties during September.





September flips the rainfall script
Repeated plumes of subtropical moisture — including a boost from Polo — gave
the western Panhandle the rare honor of leading Oklahoma’s monthly rainfall
totals. Kenton earned the top nod with 7.70 inches, while Boise City was close
behind with 7.35 inches. Norman had the lowest total at 0.15 inches. The
normally dry Panhandle soaked up its fifth-wettest September, while the usually
rain-rich southeast scraped together just 0.89 inches for its eighth-driest.
The statewide average rainfall total was 2.28 inches, 1.04 inches below normal,
ranking the month as Oklahoma’s 42nd-driest September since records began in
1895.

Oklahoma still had plenty of catching up to do. January through September
rainfall averaged 22.58 inches statewide, 5.99 inches below normal, marking
the state’s 28th-driest first nine months of the year since 1895. Rain
continued into October, with several additional inches falling in parts of
southern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of Oct. 1, after the cutoff
for September’s totals.











September by the numbers
• Statewide average temperature: 82.8°F, 9.9°F above normal — the warmest
September since records began in 1895
• Temperature extremes: High of 109°F at Grandfield on Sept. 12; low of 52°F at
Eva on Sept. 28
• Highest heat index: 116°F at Clayton on Sept. 6
• Warmest and coolest locations: Highest monthly average, 86.7°F at Grandfield;
lowest, 73.8°F at Kenton
• Statewide average precipitation: 2.28 inches, 1.04 inches below normal —
42nd-driest September since 1895
• Rainfall extremes: High of 7.70 inches at Kenton; low of 0.15 inches at
Norman

October offers hope for drought relief
The Climate Prediction Center favors above-normal rainfall across southern
Oklahoma, with equal chances of above-, near- or below-normal precipitation
farther north. CPC notes that the southern storm track associated with strong
El Niño events is already beginning to take shape, helping support the wetter
outlook. Temperature odds are evenly divided among the three categories across
most of the state, with above-normal temperatures favored in parts of the
Panhandle. The monthly drought outlook calls for widespread improvement across
Oklahoma, although drought is expected to remain across much of the state at
month’s end.





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

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