Lawton receives more than 2 inches Thursday morning

The rainy week continued Thursday when another line of strong thunderstorms and heavy rains pushed through Southwest Oklahoma, dropping 2 inches of rain or more in some locations.

The latest round of storms continues a three-day and night pattern of heavy rains across the region, bringing much-needed drought relief to the state. Localized storms dropped as much as 2.50 inches in a short amount of time, resulting in minor flooding in some parts of Lawton and Comanche County. Lawton rainfall measurements topped close to that total in the downtown area. The National Weather Service measured 2.59 inches of rain fell at the Lawton Municipal Airport.

Police were called to several stalled out vehicles that were driven into rising waters but no injuries or serious damage was reported in Lawton.

Farther west, no accidents or flooding was reported. But area law enforcement agencies did note solid rainfall totals throughout the morning and early afternoon Thursday.

According to Gary McManus, associate state climatologist for the Oklahoma Climatological Society, the area needs at least 9 to 12 inches of rain to recoup losses from throughout the year. He continues to caution in his daily Mesonet Ticker that even with the latest totals, there's still a long way to go before long-term improvement sets in.

It wasn't much, but every little bit helps.

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