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Winter Outlook: What to expect in Oklahoma during 2023-24 season

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest winter outlook for this winter and when we're most likely to see snow move in.

Winter Outlook: What to expect in Oklahoma during 2023-24 season

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest winter outlook for this winter and when we're most likely to see snow move in.

Well, here is your newest winter outlook for Oklahoma. And you're gonna hear us talk *** lot about El Nino and just the impact that it will have on our weather for this winter. Because traditionally during an El Nino winter, there is *** favored storm track that we see across the United States, it goes from California and it really kind of hugs across the southern tier of the United States bringing usually more moisture than we typically see in the wintertime. So, uh because of *** strong El Nino, we've actually had seven strong El Ninos since the 19 forties. So we have some data to kind of look at in helping to make our newest winter outlook. So of the seven strong El Ninos when it comes to rain, six of those winters were wetter than normal. One was dry. So history usually favors us having *** wet winter when it comes to snowfall. History also favors more snow than normal. Um, during the last seven strong El Ninos that we have had during the winter, five of those winters saw more snow than average. Only two winters had lower snow with central and western Oklahoma being the favorite spots for picking up more snow than normal. And when it comes to temperatures, look, *** cold winter is not always locked in. As *** matter of fact, history favors usually normal temperatures if not *** mild winter. So if we do get strong cold fronts, that usually are. So now knowing all that, let's break down what you can expect for December, January and February temperatures in the month of December near normal, we'll get *** cold, *** few cold fronts in here, but also some warm ups for January. It'll be *** chilly month and usually January is the coldest month of the entire year. So I think we'll certainly see, uh, quite *** bit of cold weather, but it's not going to be biting cold. I don't see there being any long lasting really strong cold fronts coming in and for February right now, I have February is near normal. There's certainly *** chance that we could see temperatures just *** bit warmer than normal slightly as we go into the month of February for rainfall for Precept December near average. I don't see anything really out of the ordinary coming in for the month of December. But things will begin to change *** bit as we go into January and February. So January is statistically the, the driest month of the entire year right now, I see January being the month where our snow, our ice and our rain chances really begin to increase so wetter than normal there. And for February, it looks wet, not soaking wet, but it certainly looks like we will be wetter than normal. Thanks again to our southern to storm track that will be favored. So, here's your winter snow outlook. I expect that probably we, we will see more snow and ice than normal. Typically, we average about eight inches of snow in Oklahoma City, uh, could very well see about 4 to 5 inches more than average with early January and early February being at least the, uh, the time frame that is most favored for us to have our best snow chances during the winter. Uh, that really just kind of correlates to one or two additional snowstorms this winter. So, uh, *** few things I also want to add to this, we're probably gonna see *** bunch of temperature swings this winter. Not every day is gonna be, uh, *** day where you have normal temperatures, but when you average it all out, I think probably our, our, our, uh, our months are probably gonna be pretty close to average here. We are they normal, but that doesn't mean that every day is gonna be wet. We'll probably still have some dry stretches in there that could last 7, 1012 days. But we will likely have at least more moisture than we typically see during the winter months. Strong cold front still expected. But I don't think, as I mentioned before, there will be anything that's going to be all that long lasting. We're going to continue to update this winter outlook as we get deeper into the winter months. But as of right now with all the data coming in, that's what we see happening. We'll keep you posted.
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Winter Outlook: What to expect in Oklahoma during 2023-24 season

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest winter outlook for this winter and when we're most likely to see snow move in.

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest winter outlook for this winter and when we're most likely to see snow move in.>> KOCO weather page | Get KOCO on the GoWhat is El Nino?El Nino is a name given when ocean water temperatures in The Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal. The warmer ocean temperatures can help take part in displacing the jet stream during the winter season. When will we see El Nino this Year?And we will see that this winter as history favors Oklahoma seeing wetter than normal conditions during the winter. However, not every month will be wetter than normal. The newest data coming in shows that January and February will be the months that are most likely to see more rain/snow than normal, with December seeing normal rain projections. El Nino and SnowWhen it comes to snow, El Nino does favor more snow than normal for Oklahoma. History says that we should see about 12 inches of snow during an El Nino winter, which is 4 inches more than the normal average of 8 inches in OKC. What to ExpectThus, expect us to see about 1-2 additional storms this winter that will bring in the chance for snow. One thing to note is that any threat of ice would impact snow projections. Temperatures tend to be near normal, if not, slightly milder than normal during the winter months. It's expected that this winter will look similar, with temperatures near normal/slightly warmer than normal. We will continue to update this winter outlook as time goes on.

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest winter outlook for this winter and when we're most likely to see snow move in.

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>> KOCO weather page | Get KOCO on the Go

What is El Nino?

El Nino is a name given when ocean water temperatures in The Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal. The warmer ocean temperatures can help take part in displacing the jet stream during the winter season.

When will we see El Nino this Year?

And we will see that this winter as history favors Oklahoma seeing wetter than normal conditions during the winter. However, not every month will be wetter than normal. The newest data coming in shows that January and February will be the months that are most likely to see more rain/snow than normal, with December seeing normal rain projections.

El Nino and Snow

When it comes to snow, El Nino does favor more snow than normal for Oklahoma. History says that we should see about 12 inches of snow during an El Nino winter, which is 4 inches more than the normal average of 8 inches in OKC.

What to Expect

Thus, expect us to see about 1-2 additional storms this winter that will bring in the chance for snow. One thing to note is that any threat of ice would impact snow projections.

Temperatures tend to be near normal, if not, slightly milder than normal during the winter months. It's expected that this winter will look similar, with temperatures near normal/slightly warmer than normal.

We will continue to update this winter outlook as time goes on.