Heat Persists in the South Central U.S. and Southwest; Heavy rains in the Desert Southwest and Central Plains

Sweltering heat remains across the South-Central Plains, Lower/Middle Mississippi Valley, and the Southwest this week with limited nighttime relief. Thunderstorms will bring heavy rainfall leading to localized flash flooding in portions of the Desert Southwest and central Plains. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across portions of the central Plains into the Northeast. Read More >

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October 2009

Tulsa: October 2009 tied with 1925 as the coldest October on record (since 1905). The average temperature was 55.9 deg F, which was 6.7 deg F below normal. This was also the 21st wettest October (since 1888) with 6.14 inches of rain. Click here for more details.

Tulsa only had 9 heating degree days this October. The only other time since 1905 there were single digit heating degrees days in October was in 1906, which also had 9 HDDs.

Tulsa's Annual Normal Rainfall is 42.42 inches. From Jan. 1 - Oct. 31, 2009, Tulsa has already received 43.66 inches of rain.

October 2009 ranked as the 3rd wettest October in Fort Smith and the 7th coldest October (since 1882). Click here for more details.

Fort Smith's Annual Normal Rainfall is 43.87 inches. From Jan. 1 - Oct. 31, 2009, Fort Smith has already received 52.00 inches of rain.

Several record low maximum temperatures were set this month at TUL, FSM, FYV, and MLC. FYV and MLC both tied record minimum temperatures on the 18th.

There were 13 floods at 10 forecast points this month. Ater the heavy rain event on Oct. 8-9, 9 of the 31 forecast points in the HSA exceeded flood stage, with 6 reaching moderate flooding.

Rainfall totals for October 2009 ranged from 5 to 10 inches across the along and northwest of I-44 to 8 to 15 inches elsewhere. Almost all of the area received between 150% and 300% of the normal October precipitation, with a few areas of southeast OK and northwest AR receiving 300% to 400% of normal.

An El Nino Advisory is in affect. El Nino is now moderate intensity and is still expected to remain at least a moderate event later this fall and winter. Click here for the Winter Outlook.

According to the Drought Monitor, no drought conditions exist across eastern OK or northwest AR.

According to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, southeast Oklahoma had the second wettest October on record:

Rank since 1921 (“Last XX days” ending Oct. 31, 2009)	October 2009	Last 60 days	Last 90 days & Last 120 days	Last 365 days (Nov. 1, 2008 – Oct. 31, 2009)	Year-to-Date (Jan. 1, 2009– Oct. 31, 2009)
Northeast OK	6th wettest	6th wettest	6th wettest	18th wettest	13th wettest
East Central OK	4th wettest	3rd wettest	2nd wettest	19th wettest	10th wettest
Southeast OK	2nd wettest	1st wettest	1st wettest	6th wettest	5th wettest
Statewide	4th wettest	5th wettest	6th (last 90) 5th (last 120) wettest

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Heat Persists in the South Central U.S. and Southwest; Heavy rains in the Desert Southwest and Central Plains

Climate and Hydrology Highlights Oct. 2009