Record-warm Oklahoma winter wraps up on Monday

This year, you could be forgiven for mistaking February for May.

Although the state saw a cold spell here and there, most of the winter in Oklahoma ranged from mild to uncomfortably hot, occasionally reaching into the high 90s.

“It was extremely warm,” said Oklahoma state climatologist Gary McManus. “The cooler weather we had there at spring break didn’t really change things much.”

Monday marks the first day of spring. But to the extent that it came at all, winter seemed to be gone for good weeks ago. Oklahoma saw its warmest January and February on record. In Mangum, in southwest Oklahoma, temperatures reached 99 degrees on February 11, tying a 99-year-old record for highest temperature in February. The previous record was set in Arapaho in Feb. 24, 1918.

McManus said the warm weather in Oklahoma was part of a broader trend across North America. Through most of the winter, the jet stream remained further north, keeping cold air

bottled up near the Arctic Circle, McManus said.

Drought resurgence

Although that trend led to a mild winter in Oklahoma, it also brought a resurgence of drought. About 90 percent of Oklahoma is in some stage of drought, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday, up from just 34 percent at this time last year.

A springtime drought places winter wheat crops in danger. When wheat comes out of dormancy, it needs soil moisture to thrive.

McManus said the same conditions that produce drought can also lead to wildfires. Dry soil, low humidity and strong winds generally mean any fire that does start, will spread quickly, McManus said.

To make matters worse, vegetation that died or went dormant during the winter makes ideal fuel for those fires, McManus said. During warm, dry winters, red cedar trees tend to dry out and catch fire quickly, he said.

“Those are sort of nicknamed ‘Mother Nature’s Roman candles,’” McManus said.

The coming months could bring drought relief to the eastern half of the state, according to a seasonal drought outlook released Thursday by the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. Forecasters predict any drought conditions that exist in eastern Oklahoma to improve or be lifted entirely by the end of June.

But across northwestern Oklahoma, including the Panhandle, the news isn’t as good. Forecasters expect drought in that part of the state to persist through the end of June.

In the Panhandle, where the state’s drought is most severe, farmers are beginning to worry, said Katie Hughes, an agriculture educator with the Texas County Cooperative Extension Office.

Most of Texas and Cimarron counties are in extreme drought, according to Thursday’s U.S. Drought Monitor report.

“Everything’s looking pretty dry,” Hughes said. “The winter wheat’s not looking any good if we don’t get some moisture soon.”