Thursday’s rain in the Panhandle and the western part of Oklahoma might have brought some temporary relief, but the drought still has a firm grip on the state. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows much of the state is in the nextto-worst category.
An estimated 40% of Oklahoma falls under the extreme drought or D-4 category, while 12% of Oklahoma falls under the worst category, “exceptional drought.”
Gary McManus, state climatologist for the Oklahoma Mesonet, said it’s the most D3-D4 since Oct. 29,2024, and the most D4 since April 25, 2023. The extreme dryness two years ago was finally eliminated by the wettest November in Oklahoma history, he cited in his Thursday morning Mesonet report.
“Taken as a whole, however, 100% of the state is now in at least moderate (Dl) drought, which we haven’t seen in the state since Nov. 1, 2022,” he wrote.
The climatologist further reported that July 28-Aug. 26 was the fifth driest such time period on record statewide.
“West-central Oklahoma? Driest on record. Southwest Oklahoma? Driest on record. The maps are ugly,” he remarked.
McManus believes August will “probably” end up being the top 5-driest and hottest on record and “maybe the 3rd-hottest, behind August 2011 and 1936.”