It’s hard to imagine going more than two months with only a few drops of rain but that’s the situation in the western part of Oklahoma’s Panhandle.
State Climatologist Gary McManus reported this week the heaviest rainfalls in the month of February were in southeastern Oklahoma. Amounts ranged from four to six inches with the Mt. Herman Mesonet site recording the highest amount at 6.02 inches.
“The driest area also came as no surprise. The far western Panhandle station of Kenton had the lowest total with 0.26
inches,” wrote McManus.
Cimarron county, the western most county in the Panhandle experienced at least 65 straight days with less than 0.25″ of rainfall. It has also gone through 33 consecutive days with less than one-tenth of an inch of rainfall.
Adjacent Texas County also experienced 33 consecutive days with less than a quarter of an inch of rain. Jackson County in the southwest experienced 44 days with less than 0.25″ of an inch of rainfall.
Adjacent Texas County also experienced 33 consecutive days with less than a quarter of an inch of rain. Jackson County in the southwest experienced 44 days with less than 0.25″ of an inch of rainfall.
Still, Oklahoma’s drought coverage was cut nearly in half through February according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The amount of drought stood at 8.03% at the end of January, but had dropped to 4.66% by the end of February.
Source: Oklahoma Mesonet
