Oklahoma’s Endless Summer Will Hold Off Fall For A While

If you're like every other Oklahoman, you've been keeping an eye on the forecast. It's up and down, a front here and there, but none of the cooler temperatures seem to stick for more than a day or two.

How many "last 90° days" have we had over the last month?

The status of our weather this fall is, as usual, completely unpredictable. Nobody knows what to expect, except the cooler temps will eventually get to Oklahoma and the Southern Plains by February at the latest... unless we have another 100° February like we did a few years ago, but that was beyond abnormal.

What's In The Forecast

It's warm right now, well above average, and that's going to continue through October... at least that's the best prediction.

Even though most of Oklahoma took on an early fall that was, then wasn't, and swung back around to happening, the endless late summer temps are hanging around for the foreseeable future.

We all have at least one Halloween in our memories when it was 90°+ while trick or treating... There's a good chance, while it likely won't be that hot when All Hallows Eve rolls around, it will be a warm one. Try to pick out hot-weather costumes for the kiddoes.

When Will It Cool Off

Nobody knows. Meteorologists don't know, the National Weather Service doesn't know, and apparently, the persimmon seeds don't know either. Three different persimmon seeds have predicted a very snowy winter for Oklahoma, but the weather people are hedging bets against it.

If you're keeping count, both Farmer's Almanacs, local meteorologists, and nature's persimmons all disagree on what Oklahoma is in for in the coming months.

You can't make this up... unless you work in meteorology, then you can because it's OK to be wrong when it comes to predicting the future. Nobody can see it, and the accurate forecasts are generally limited to a day or two in the future.

Worst Case Scenario

When you're talking about fall, it's so hard to say because our last couple of falls have been so wildly different and out of the norm.

Four years ago, we had a normal fall. 80s in October, 70s in November, 60s over Christmas, cold in January, and then record-breaking cold and snow across the state. 16 inches in my front yard in Southwest Oklahoma. Unheard of!

Three years ago, the 80s and 90s lasted until New Year's Eve, when the Arctic plunged into the heartland. It stayed cold until February, then the bottom dropped out, and the whole state went below freezing for two weeks. A little snow, but the cold was a real killer of gas and electric bills.

Two years ago, fall was put on hold when first-winter hit the second week of October. It was a freak ice storm with plunging temps. With all of the leaves still clinging to trees, it was a tree-killing event we don't see very often across the Sooner State.

Last year was even wilder with a tornado outbreak in November that sent the 2024 tornado records all to the top of the heap. It also didn't get cold until January, but only for a week. It was warm until that cold snap in February, which only lasted a few days too. I don't think Oklahoma got cold enough to kill off the ticks, which is probably why Lyme disease and alpha-gal have been such talking points this year.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong in 2025?

Well, it's turning into an Augtober out there. After some absolutely monstrous record rains this year, Oklahoma is sinking into a drought faster than usual, and at the weirdest time of year.

We should hope for a little rain, pray the meteorologists are wrong again, and savor these warm backyard-barbeque evenings while they last... if we can just do something about the mosquitoes...