Southwest Oklahoma Has Had A Relatively Mild Storm Season So Far

I can't help but think about how mild the storm season has been in Southwest Oklahoma so far in 2023. Sure, we've gotten some pretty good rains, lots of lightning, a little bit of hail, and a twister or two, but nothing like you'd expect Oklahomans to be expecting.

In Lawton, I think the worst weather we've seen so far this year came in February with that mighty cold front that blew in at 80+MPH. They even sounded the sirens due to those winds, but nothing much since then.

The same can be said about most of Oklahoma. We've had a few tornadoes, sure, but nothing to the destruction we've become used to in the past. Nothing in that EF4-EF5 slot this year. As thankful as I suppose we should all be, last years spring was the same way and I doubt anybody will forget how miserably brutal last summer was.

Farmers Almanac predicts that summer 2023 will be a lot like summer 2022. At least the dry, sweltering heat is poised to return, but La Nina has flipped to El Nino and that normally means a cool-off for at least one season.

Maybe the severe weather is waiting until June to get here. At least three times in the last six years, I've returned home from a June family trip to find missing shingles, hail-dented sheds, and my neighbors cottonwood tree limbs all over my yard. Perhaps June will release the Kraken on Lawton then.

I'm still optimistic about this summer, even with the extended forecasts pointing at brutal heat. This is the exact same start to the season as we had in 2020, and that was one cool and mild summer I wouldn't mind having every year in Southwest Oklahoma.