From staff reports According to State Climatologist Gary McManus, the Oklahoma Panhandle recently received a once-in-a-1000-year rainfall.
“That 7.52″ of rain in Goodwell that fell since 10:50 p.m. last night, so just around 8 hours,” McManus said June 19. “In actuality, most of it fell between 10:50 p.m. and 6 a.m., but it won’t change the return interval much. The average 1000-year recurrence interval (an average precipitation recurrence interval of 1000 years means that a rainfall event of a certain magnitude is expected to occur, on average, once every 1000 years) in Goodwell, Oklahoma, over 6 hours is 6.78 inches, and the 12-hour 1000-year rain is 7.54 inches. The 8-hour 1000-year rainfall amount is approximately 7.2.”
McManus said that the June 18 rainfall in the Panhandle has set records.
“So now we’re up to the 12-hour 1000-year rain as well,” McManus said. “Goodwell’s highest daily rainfall total on record is 5.38” from June 8, 1942. So that’s also blown completely out of the water. Their alltime daily record rainfall total is absolutely shattered. Goodwell’s normal yearly total is 16.7 inches, Goodwell’s total of 7.52 inches of rain in 8 hours would already rank as the 4th-wettest month on record for Goodwell (July 1950’s 9.21 inches is in top spot), and those records go back to 1910.”
Beaver and Hooker also set rainfall records.
“It started raining 9:20 p.m. last night in Hooker, and by midnight 5.35 inches had fallen,” McManus said. “Hooker’s daily rainfall record alone is 5 inches even from Aug. 24, 1972. So they blew that out of the water in just 2 hours and 40 minutes. So, 5.35 inches of rain in just under 3 hours for that location is right around the 3-hour 500-year return interval total of 5.59 inches. They’re up to 6.94 inches in just about 10 hours now, still right around the 500-year interval total.”
Beaver, Oklahoma, approached its 100-year rainfall record of 5.07 inches back in June of 1983. June 18-19 of this year, the town received around 5.63 inches in just 9 hours.