Heat in Oklahoma, July 6 to 31, 1998

A blistering heat wave struck the south-central part of the nation during July 1998, including much of eastern Oklahoma. A drought also accompanied the heat wave in southeast Oklahoma, combining with the heat wave to cause devastating crop damage. (For specific information on the drought aspect and crop damage, see the Drought entry in eastern Oklahoma's July Storm Data.) This was all brought about by a persistent upper level ridge of high pressure over the south-central and southwestern parts of the nation. Temperatures in some portion of southeast Oklahoma rose above 100 degrees on all but two days of the month, particularly further south in Choctaw and Pushmataha Counties. At the McAlester ASOS, 100+ degree temperatures were recorded on 24 out of 31 days during July. In fact, there were 15 consecutive days above the century mark from the 17th through the 31st, and the mercury soared to at least 105 degrees every day from the 23rd through the 31st, rising as high as 107 on three days. The average high temperature for the entire month of July in McAlester was 102.0 degrees. The average monthly temperature was 89.3 degrees, or 7.4 degrees above normal. The temperature failed to fall below 80 degrees on eight days of the month.Further north at the Muskogee ASOS, conditions were similar as temperatures reached at least 100 degrees on all but one day from the 18th through the 31st. The temperature rose as high as 107 on the 26th.In Tulsa, weak cold fronts put a damper on the extreme heat for two to four days at a time, but temperatures reached at least 100 degrees eight times in July. The temperature rose as high as 106 on the 30th.Five deaths in eastern Oklahoma during July are blamed on the heat, not including a 40-year old man who suffered a heat stroke in June and died on July 13. The first was a 40-year old Tulsa man who suffered a heat stroke near 800 S. Boulder Avenue in downtown Tulsa on July 10. The high temperature that day in Tulsa reached 99 degrees after a morning low of 80 with afternoon heat indices near 110 degrees. An 86-year old Hugo man died on July 15 after suffering from dehydration and heat. Another 40-year old Tulsa man and a 63-year old Broken Arrow man had also died of heat stroke through July 20, but the exact day of these two deaths was not included in newspaper articles and is unknown. On the 30th, a 39-year old Henryetta woman died of hyperthermia. The temperature at Tulsa rose that day to 106, and McAlester rose to 105.The State Health Department reported that Emergency Medical Services throughout Oklahoma had responded to 452 heat-related injuries during the period June 1 to July 31, but it is unknown when and how many of those took place in the eastern portion of Oklahoma.