Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Hot Again Wednesday, Late Week Rains

Now that June 2015 is history, the question is how did it turn out with respect to the record book? With records going back to 1905 for Tulsa, this past June will rank among the warmest Junes on record, but near normal with respect to precipitation.

Actually, it was a month of streaks as the torrential rains of May ended when June rolled around and the first 11 days were bone dry. That was followed by an unsettled period from Jun 12-18 in which rain was recorded on each of those days. That period culminated in TS Bill, bringing record rains to portions of the state. However, the official total as recorded at the airport for that period was 4.77” which was the only rain we received for the entire month. The final days of Jun 19-30 were also bone dry, and, as a result, the month ended near normal with respect to precipitation.

Again, the above reflects the data officially recorded in Tulsa. As you can see on the statewide rainfall map over the course of the last 30 days, much heavier totals occurred in other parts of the state and in some cases produced record levels of flooding.

Going further back, the extremely wet spring period from Apr 1-Jun 30 now stands as the 5th wettest on record here in Tulsa with a total of 23.64.” Notice the 90-day rainfall totals for the rest of the state as recorded by the OK Mesonet which clearly shows that as a very wet period. Now that the year is half over, our total precipitation to date of 29.67' is good enough to be the 9th wettest on record.

The average temperature of 80.8 was good enough to qualify as the 14th warmest June on record as the month was more than 3 degrees warmer than normal.

That was a look back, now a look ahead. Another unsettled period will become established over the course of the next several days and extending through the holiday weekend. We could see some showers or storms along the OK/KS state line late Wednesday, but the chances really ramp up for the Friday and Saturday time period.

A NW flow pattern aloft will push another weak frontal boundary into the state, which will eventually stall out in our vicinity. The surface boundary and a more favorable flow pattern aloft will bring more cloud cover our way and a good chance for showers and storms, some of which could be locally quite strong. Notice the 5-day QPF map for example which suggests the possibility of an inch or more of rain during that period. I used the 5-day QPF because this unsettled period should be tapering off on Sunday.

As you can see on our forecast page, little or no mention of rain is expected after Sunday. Also, the clouds and rain chances will provide at least some relief from the heat for Fri-Sun, but things will be heating back up early next week.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot