Going from 2021 brutal cold to 2022 extreme heat

(KTEN) – Tired of the heat? Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a year and a half ago. Temperatures dropped to 13 below zero in Ada, 8 below zero in Ardmore, and 4 below zero in Sherman during February 2021.  Winter storm warnings were hoisted over the entire states of Texas and Oklahoma in anticipation of a very impactful winter storm across the Southern Plains.

Snowfall totals generally ranged from 6 to 15 inches across the region.

Snow blanketed a majority of the State of Texas, a feat that is rarely seen here in the Lone Star State. A thin coating of black ice covered many Texas roads, resulting in countless vehicle accidents. One such accident was on Interstate-35W in Fort Worth that involved more than 100 vehicles.

From brutal cold to extreme heat, the summer of 2022 is a far cry from the notorious winter storm of February 2021. For the first time in Oklahoma Mesonet history with records dating back to the mid-1990s, all reporting stations in the Sooner State hit 103°F or higher on July 19.

In the midst of a brutal heatwave, the National Weather Service issued Excessive Heat Warnings for all of Texoma on July 19 as temperatures rose to around 110°F and heat index soared to around 112­°F.

So far (as of August 5), the summer of 2022 has produced 32 days with a high temperature of 100°F or more; 23 of those days have been during the month of July.

In terms of record-keeping, 2022 has not yet produced enough days to be on the list of top 10 triple digits days. But with a pattern of relentless heat in the forecast, 2022 could be added to this list soon.