Oklahoma’s summer nights not cooling off as much
The dog days of summer continue to bring everything from drought to some of the wettest weekends in recent history. Still, as the heat persists through the day, is there respite from the heat at night in Oklahoma?
Data from the National Weather Service in Norman shows that while temperatures have been steady over the last few decades, the high heat is carrying over into the midnight hours.
So far this month, the Oklahoma City metro area recorded an average nightly temperature of 65 degrees, which is slightly below the seasonal average of 67 degrees.
“In the last 5 years or so we’re right on average or somewhat below, there isn’t much deviation across the season with the hottest summers seeming consistent with the warmest nights, there are definitely exceptions though,” said meteorologist Max Unger, of the National Weather Service.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how these temperatures pan out once July ends and going into August,” Unger said.
The seasons include the months from May through August showing the overnight lows across a 25-year period beginning in 1998.
When was the hottest night in Oklahoma? When was the coldest?
With the state experiencing its hottest summer in 2011, it may not come as a surprise that July 2011 brought with it, the hottest overnight temperature on average at 75.9 degrees.
The lowest registered average temperature was set over May 2002 with a monthly average of 55 degrees, but the lowest single night low record was set on May 3, 2013, with a frigid 24 degrees.
All in all, the average temperature overnight for the last two decades is 67 degrees.
As for single-day records, the highest overnight low was recorded on Aug. 2, 2012, at a sweltering 89 degrees.