Oklahoma has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Normal daily mean temperatures in Oklahoma City range from 37°F (3°C) in January to 82°F (28°C) in July. The record low temperature of –27°F (–33°C) was set at Watts on 18 January 1930; the record high, 120°F (49°C), occurred at Tipton on 27 June 1994.
Dry, sunny weather generally prevails throughout the state. Precipitation varies from an average of 15 in (38 cm) annually in the panhandle to over 50 in (127 cm) in the southeast. Average annual precipitation in Oklahoma City (1971–2000) was 35.9 in (91.2 cm). Snowfall averages 9 in (23 cm) a year in Oklahoma City, which is also one of the windiest cities in the US, with an average annual wind speed of 12.3 mph (19.8 km/hr).
Oklahoma is tornado-prone. One of the most destructive windstorms was the tornado that tore through Ellis, Woods, and Woodward counties on 9 April 1947, killing 101 people and injuring 782 others.