Norman, OK

Weather Forecast Office

Drought Information for Western/Central Oklahoma and Western North Texas

Current Data
Burn Bans
Seasonal Outlook
Drought Improvement
Temperature Records
Web Links

Current Data and Statistics

Current U.S. Drought Monitor Map for the NWS Norman Forecast Area

Oklahoma Climatological Survey Precipitation Statistics for the Current Calendar Year

Current precipitation and drought condition information for Oklahoma can be found through the Oklahoma Climatological Survey web site.

Total Precipitation	Normal Precipitation

Departure	Percentage Normal

Palmer Drought Severity Index

The Palmer Index was developed in the 1960s and uses temperature and rainfall information in a formula to determine dryness. The Palmer Index is most effective in determining long term drought (a matter of several months) and is not as good with short-term forecasts (a matter of weeks). Click on the image to enlarge.

The Palmer Index uses a 0 as normal, and drought is shown in terms of minus numbers; for example, minus 2 is moderate drought, minus 3 is severe drought, and minus 4 is extreme drought.The Palmer Index can also reflect excess rain using a corresponding level reflected by plus figures; i.e., 0 is normal, plus 2 is moderate rainfall, etc.

The advantage of the Palmer Index is that it is standardized to local climate, so it can be applied to any part of the country to demonstrate relative drought or rainfall conditions. The negative is that it is not as good for short term forecasts, and is not particularly useful in calculating supplies of water locked up in snow, so it works best east of the Continental Divide.

Keetch-Byram Drought Index

Drought indices by climatic division often average out much of the variance within a region. The images below show the Keetch-Byram Drought Index for all the counties of Oklahoma and Texas. Click on the image to enlarge.

Drought Impact Reporter

Drought severity is inherently linked to the impacts of the drought. Such impacts include agricultural issues, hydrologic deficits, increased fire danger, and other economic and social consequences. These impacts are not easily quantified with simple statistics.

The National Drought Mitigation Center developed the Drought Impact Reporter as a database for reported drought impacts. The impacts are classified by category, with the number of reports emphasizing a drought's significance without attributing specific statistics to the reports. (Click on a county of interest for further information.)

Burn Ban Maps for Oklahoma and Texas

Burn Ban Map for Oklahoma

Burn Ban Map created by the Oklahoma Forestry Service

Burn Ban Map for Texas

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Drought Improvement

Precipitation Needs

How much rain is needed to get the Palmer Drought Severity Index back to the "near normal" category? Click below to find out.

CPC Precipitation Outlooks

CPC 1-month Precipitation Outlook

CPC 3-month Precipitation Outlook

Temperature Records

Top Ten All-time Monthly Temperature Records
Lawton, OK (1912 - Present)			Oklahoma City, OK (1890 - Present)			Wichita Falls, TX (1921 - Present)
Rank	Warmest	Month/Year	Rank	Warmest	Month/Year	Rank	Warmest	Month/Year
1	92.3	July 2011	1	89.2	July 2011	1	93.4	August 2011
2	92.2	August 2011	2	89.0	August 2011	2	92.9	July 2011
3	89.8	July 1980	3	88.7	August 1936	3	91.9	July 1980
4	88.9	August 1943	4 (tie)	88.3	July 1980	4	91.1	August 1952
5	88.5	July 1998		88.3	July 1934	5	90.7	August 1943
6	88.4	August 2006	6 (tie)	88.0	July 1998	6	90.3	August 2000
7	88.3	July 2001		88.0	August 1980	7	90.0	July 2001
8	88.0	July 1954	8	87.4	July 1954	8 (tie)	89.8	July 1978
9	87.8	July 2012	9	87.2	August 1943		89.8	July 1934
10 (tie)	87.7	June 2011	10	87.0	July 1978	10	89.5	June 2011
	87.7	August 1952
	87.7	July 1925

Longest Streaks Without Precipitation

Longest Streaks Without Precipitation for Lawton, OK
Rank	# of Days	Date Range
1	103	September 21, 1950 - January 1, 1951
2	88	November 1, 2005 - January 27, 2006
3	76	January 2, 1996 - March 17, 1996
4	64	June 15, 2001 - August 17, 2001
5	59	June 20, 1980 - August 17, 1980
6	58	December 5, 1973 - January 31, 1974
7	57	December 23, 1913 - February 17, 1914
8 (tie)	56	June 13, 1998 - August 7, 1998
	56	October 6, 1955 - November 30, 1955
10	55	November 8, 1925 - January 1, 1926

Longest Streaks Without Precipitation for Oklahoma City, OK
Rank	# of Days	Date Range
1	68	October 21, 1910 - December 27, 1910
2	57	November 4 - December 30, 2021
3	56	October 5, 1955 - November 29, 1955
4	54	July 30, 2000 - September 21, 2000
5	53	December 7, 1922 - January 28, 1923
6 (tie)	50	December 14, 1985 - February 1, 1986
	50	December 2, 1955 - January 20, 1956
8	47	September 23, 1952 - November 8, 1952
9 (tie)	44	September 30, 1958 - November 12, 1958
	44	July 2, 1913 - August 14, 1913

Longest Streaks Without Precipitation for Wichita Falls, TX
Rank	# of Days	Date Range
1	75	December 19, 1913 - March 3, 1914
2	72	May 31, 2001 - August 10, 2001
3	71	November 1, 1904 - January 10, 1905
4	66	September 7, 1901 - November 11, 1901
5	65	June 30, 1943 - September 2, 1943
6	62	October 4, 1950 - December 4, 1950
7 (tie)	59	January 2, 1996 - March 16, 1996
	59	July 6, 1936 - September 2, 1936
9 (tie)	55	June 15, 2011 - August 8, 2011
	55	August 20, 1956 - October 13, 1956
	55	October 6, 1955 - November 29, 1955

Powerful Pacific System Impacting the West; First Significant Snow for Portions of the East