Summer Reclaims Headlines During July

After months dominated by rain and severe weather, summer finally reclaimed the spotlight in Oklahoma during July. The state’s wet streak ended, replaced by rising heat and drying conditions. A lone tornado touchdown near Vance AFB extended the tornado streak to five consecutive months, bringing the 2025 total through July to 88. Sweltering July heat held off for much of the month but surged during the final two weeks—only to be abruptly cut short by an unusually strong cold front on July 31. The combination of warming temperatures and dwindling rainfall brought a return of those unwelcome shades on the U.S. Drought Monitor map, signaling the reemergence of drought concerns.

Summer Weather Returns

Oklahoma enjoyed a mild and wet first half of summer through mid-July. Just four triple-digit temperatures had been recorded across the Oklahoma Mesonet’s 120 sites through July 18. However, recent rains often pushed heat index values above the 100-degree mark in many areas. A good old-fashioned Oklahoma heat wave began on July 18, with triple-digit highs every day thereafter and heat index values soaring into dangerous territory. The month ended with 254 triple-digit temperatures recorded by the Mesonet, peaking at 106 degrees at Kingfisher on July 30. Factoring in Oklahoma’s famous humidity, the Mesonet calculated 2,055 triple-digit heat index values during the month, including 876 that reached at least 105 degrees. The highest heat index reading was 114 degrees at Cherokee on July 21.

Drought Threatens Return During July

Drought, which had largely retreated from Oklahoma in June for the first time in nearly six years, began creeping back during July. An area of abnormal dryness (D0) was reintroduced in southwestern Oklahoma on the July 8 U.S. Drought Monitor map, initially covering just 1.24% of the state. That coverage grew to 4.73% by month’s end. The Oklahoma Mesonet reported it had been as long as 35 days since parts of the southwest had received at least a quarter-inch of rain in a day, with at least 19 dry days across a broad portion of the southeastern half of the state. Monthly rainfall deficits climbed to 1–3 inches across the southeast and 1–2 inches in the northwest. The statewide average precipitation finished at 2.64 inches—0.56 inches below normal—ranking as the 59th-driest July since records began in 1895. Forty-eight Mesonet sites recorded less than 2 inches during the month, including 16 with less than an inch. Antlers reported the highest July total with 12.11 inches.

2025 Tornado Count Creeps Up

There was only a single confirmed tornado in Oklahoma during July—right in line with the long-term July average of 1.6—but it pushed the year-to-date total well above the annual average of 59, reaching a preliminary count of 88 for the first seven months of the year. The January–July average is 51. Of those 88 tornadoes, two were rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with three rated EF2, and 70 classified as either EF0 or EF1. Thirteen tornadoes were rated EFU, indicating unknown intensity. No EF4 or EF5 “violent” tornadoes had been confirmed in the state through the end of July 2025.

July by the Numbers

• Statewide average temperature: 81.7°F, or 0.2°F below normal — the 62nd-warmest July since records began in 1895
• Temperature extremes: High of 106°F at Kingfisher on July 30; low of 58°F at Eva on July 7, and again at three more sites on July 13; highest heat index, 114°F at Cherokee on July 21
• Warmest/Coolest locations: Highest monthly average temperature, 84.8°F at Grandfield; lowest, 76.4°F at Boise City 
• Statewide average precipitation: 2.64 inches, or 0.55 inches below normal — the 59th-driest July on record
• Rainfall extremes: High of 12.11 inches at Antlers; low of 0.17 inches at Altus
• Rainfall totals less than 2 inches: 48 instances recorded at the 120 Oklahoma Mesonet sites, including 16 with less than an inch

Drought Development Likely During August

The Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) August outlook indicates increased odds of above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation across the western third of Oklahoma, with equal chances of above-, below-, or near-normal conditions across the eastern two-thirds. The CPC’s August drought outlook calls drought development “likely” across the southwest quarter of the state, extending into the western edge of central Oklahoma.