Farmers Almanac and Oklahoma have a uniquely at-odds relationship with each other. FA usually makes big bold claims about the pending long-term forecast and the Sooner State usually just does its own thing. The forecast is never wrong... it's the weather that just doesn't seem to cooperate as it should.

For instance, if you were to go back a few years in recent history, you'll read past predictions of a scorching and extremely dry 2021 summer season... but 2021 was relatively wet and seasonably acceptable. I think we only had two or three days over 100° last year.

Winter 2020 was predicted to be warmer above average and dry, but that was the year of the three-week February blizzard the whole state is still paying for. Winter 2016 was supposed to be brutally cold and snowy... but who else remembers mowing grass on a hot 91° February Saturday afternoon? The revered Farmers Almanac is spotty at best...

All the same, I know I had a field day with the "extremely cold and icy" 2021 winter prediction, but so did everyone else. We had a Christmas taco fiesta picnic in the backyard wearing shorts and t-shirts... but then mother nature had a wild New Year's Eve swing and proceeded to dump ice and snow on us every two weeks for four months.

Farmers Almanac got a little vindication earlier this year. They also pretty much nailed the summer 2022 extended forecast in the depths of all that snowy cold too.

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Kelso
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Riding high on their back-to-back accurate forecasts, the almanac is doubling-down on winter 2022, but it expects normal seasonal conditions rather than another deep plunge into arctic conditions.

Farmers Almanac
Farmers Almanac
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If you haven't been in Oklahoma long and are wondering what a normal winter is like in Oklahoma, relax. It's nothing like it has been in the last two years.

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Kelso
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While winter doesn't technically start until just before Christmas, the cooler air usually arrives in Southwest Oklahoma right around Thanksgiving and lingers around until late-February. It's normally an ideal "winter."

Normal overnight lows usually stay just above freezing, but a dip below 32° here and there isn't out of the question. Normal winter daily high's usually hit somewhere in the mid-50s, occasionally a random 60-ish here and there.

Normal precipitation is one or two sleet/snow storms that last a day, maybe two. At least one ice storm that can hit anywhere from mid-October through early April right before the first summer makes a mid-spring visit.

Kelso
Kelso
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All in all, a regular seasonably cool, mild winter is one forecast I feel we're all hoping for these days. Now, if we could go ahead and move straight into an actual fall season, that'd be just great.

The Frozen Wichita Mountains

When Southwest Oklahoma gets a rare blizzard with serious snowfall, the mountains take on a fresh and stunning look. It's something we all get to experience thanks to the video and camera work of a few awesome locals with a stellar YouTube channel, The Pemberton Boys. They flew their drones and explored the mountains across SWOK while the views were grand, putting it online for everyone to enjoy.

The Wonders of Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle

Often called the Grand Canyon of Texas, it's easy to feel small when surrounded by the towering land. Palo Duro offers stellar hiking and biking, camping, and even cabins to plan more of a family or lovers getaway. Explore it on foot, on wheels, on horses, etc... Cap off the day with an authentic taqueria meal in Amarillo, if you can stand the smell. They don't call it "Cow Town" for nothing...

If Oklahoma Was A Candle, What Would It Smell Like?

I think it's fair to say that each place you can visit has a distinctive smell. That being said, I don't think you can just easily cram Oklahoma into just one candle. There are so many different places that are diverse and unique. It's a loaded question beyond what most people can answer. Instead, here are a few different candles to represent the places I've lived and traveled to in Oklahoma.

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