The combination of warm, dry and breezy conditions created favorable conditions for fire starts and spread.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.
The combination of warm, dry and breezy conditions created favorable conditions for fire starts and spread.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 5:41 PM CST, 3 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Norman OK 541 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Sunday) Issued at 210 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 Weak lee troughing over the southern Plains will aid in south- southwesterly surface flow this evening. Mostly clear skies will help the low temperature get down into the upper 40s to low 50s for most locations. Tomorrow, a weak shortwave embedded within the broader west-northwest flow aloft will help elongate the aforementioned surface trough down into north Texas. The surface pressure gradient will decrease for most of the area, except for western north Texas, where downslope winds are expected. Highs across western north Texas are expected to climb into the low to mid 80s, whereas most locations elsewhere will stay in the mid to upper 70s. Bunker && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through next Friday) Issued at 210 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 We will continue to have mid-level westerlies through at least the middle parts of the week. Continuous lee troughing over the central Plains will tighten the surface pressure gradient across our area starting Monday. West-southwest surface flow will gradually increase throughout the day Monday, with locations across western Oklahoma potentially seeing 20-25 mph sustained winds during the afternoon. Monday will also be the warmest day of the year so far, with record breaking highs across much of the area. The forecast/record high temperatures for OKC, LAW, and SPS are as follows: OKC 85/82, LAW 87/85, and SPS 89/89. A deeper Pacific Northwest trough will dive southward across the Rockies Tuesday, helping to strengthen the surface winds overnight Monday through Tuesday. A Wind Advisory will likely be needed for many locations along and west of I-35 Monday late night into Tuesday afternoon. Strong downslope flow will allow for record high low temperatures overnight and potentially record high temperatures Tuesday. Main limiting factor will be cloud cover, which ultimately will limit vertical mixing. Nevertheless, it will be much hotter than average Monday through Tuesday. This pattern will also favor fire weather across much of the area. Please see the fire weather section below for more information. As the aforementioned Pacific Northwest trough dives south, a strong cold front is expected to move into the area late Tuesday into Wednesday morning. High temperatures will plummet by almost 40 F from Tuesday high temperatures. The cooler trend will continue at least through the end of the week, before temperatures climb back into the 70s next weekend. Bunker && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 534 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 No restrictions expected through the forecast period. Gusty south to southwest winds at start of forecast are expected to decrease through 03Z. LLWS expected most terminals overnight. Weak surface trough will move in from the north tonight and tomorrow morning, shifting winds to light northerly. However, gusty southwest winds will return tomorrow at KSPS through early afternoon and all day at KDUA. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 210 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 Fire weather conditions are expected to increase Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, mainly across western Oklahoma and western north Texas. Low to mid 80s can be expected on both days, in addition to gusty to strong westerly winds. The highest wind speeds are expected across northwestern Oklahoma Tuesday afternoon, where daytime mixing should maximize across our area owing to partly cloudy skies. Elsewhere, cloud cover will cause slightly lower wind speeds. There is high confidence in widespread RH values below 20% and mid teen RHs will be likely over western OK and western north TX. A fire weather watch will likely be needed for a small portion Monday afternoon, and areas west of Highway 81 by Tuesday. Bunker && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Oklahoma City OK 49 75 47 84 / 0 0 0 0 Hobart OK 46 75 46 85 / 0 0 0 0 Wichita Falls TX 51 81 49 89 / 0 0 0 0 Gage OK 37 76 43 84 / 0 0 0 0 Ponca City OK 44 74 43 80 / 0 0 0 0 Durant OK 53 80 51 86 / 0 0 0 0 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...None. TX...None. && SHORT TERM...13 LONG TERM....13 AVIATION...11
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Norman OK 257 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-252100- Harper-Woods-Alfalfa-Grant-Kay-Ellis-Woodward-Major-Garfield- Noble-Roger Mills-Dewey-Custer-Blaine-Kingfisher-Logan-Payne- Beckham-Washita-Caddo-Canadian-Oklahoma-Lincoln-Grady-McClain- Cleveland-Pottawatomie-Seminole-Hughes-Harmon-Greer-Kiowa-Jackson- Tillman-Comanche-Stephens-Garvin-Murray-Pontotoc-Coal-Cotton- Jefferson-Carter-Johnston-Atoka-Love-Marshall-Bryan-Hardeman- Foard-Wilbarger-Wichita-Knox-Baylor-Archer-Clay- 257 PM CST Sat Feb 24 2024 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of northern... western...central...and southern Oklahoma...and western north Texas. .DAY ONE...Through Tonight... No hazardous weather is expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday... .Fire Weather... Near critical to critical fire weather conditions are possible Monday and Tuesday, especially across portions of western Oklahoma and western north Texas due to the continued warm temperatures, low relative humidity, and increasing west southwest winds. .Thunderstorms... A few thunderstorms will be possible across parts of southeastern Oklahoma late Tuesday into Wednesday. Get graphics and more details at weather.gov/norman...and follow our weather forecast office on Twitter and Facebook.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The 'Possum Hollow Fire' spread over 507 acres across northern Atoka County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, February 2024
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1163648.