[prowler]

On averages, how do annual weather conditions differ between Oklahoma City and Fayetteville? Looking at the U.S. map, it appears that Oklahoma City lies at approx 97 degrees while Fayetteville lies at 94 degrees Longitude which is pretty much the same.

Weather patterns generally seem to move in a northeast direction which always makes forecasting difficult but I would like to get the facts from a resident of Arkansas. I'm somewhat familiar with how the weather goes in Oklahoma City.

Thanks.

[jim9251]

Fayetteville lies in the Boston Mountains and has the four seasons. You get a distinct fall, winter, spring and summer. Summers are generally mild with highs in the low 90's although some days can reach over 100 degrees. Fayetteville does get humid in the summer but it's not that oppressive humidity and tornadoes are rare, but there are some serious thunderstorms and hail from time to time. It does snow in Fayetteville, and they get ice storms. If you suffer from allergies beware, Fayetteville is covered in yellow pollen in the spring.

[aerotive]

Like you'd expect we're a bit cooler than OKC, I'd say on average from 1 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit at any given time...we get 10 to 15 more inches of rain per year, on average. Winter is genreally mild...depending on your personal tolerenace, your residence, and with the help of a warmer than usual winter it's possible to not have to use a residential heating system at all. Summers are warm, sometimes hot (summer '09 was mild, no hundred degree days and only a few in the 90s). Most people will use a/c a few days in May, a few in September, and a lot June/July/August. It'd be a good bet that OKC has significantly more thunderstorms and tornado warnings per year during a typical year...I'm sure you could look up that info and get specifics.

As with the rest of the middle of the country weather can be highly variable...can have a high in January in the mid-70s, or a low of 55 in August.

Jim9251 is dead-on about springtime pollen.

[prowler]

jim9251 and aerotive -

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate your feedback.

[debzkidz]

I live in OKC and my son actually lives in Fayetteville. What we have found is that as the other posters mentioned, Fayetteville tends to be slightly cooler than OKC by a few degrees, both summer and winter. But really it's very close to the same. Fayetteville, at least to me, seems to be a bit more humid than OKC.

[OzarkBoy]

Hi, I live in Fayetteville and my wife's family lives in Wichita, KS, about 100 miles due north of OKC. We visit Wichita frequently and talk with them weekly, and usually whatever weather they are having will reach NW Arkansas a day or so later. The fronts generally come in from the WNW and in summer we are usually cooler than Wichita and in winter we are warmer. Less extreme. I believe it is similar for OKC, as there is no topography to slow down the nasty cold fronts in winter or the hot summer winds from the south in summer, just like in Wichita 100 miles to the north. In NW Arkansas we have the moderating effects of the surrounding Ozark hills and that tends to limit our extreme cold or hot temps. We also get more rain here than in OKC on a yearly basis. Hope this helps.

[debzkidz]

Originally Posted by OzarkBoy

Hi, I live in Fayetteville and my wife's family lives in Wichita, KS, about 100 miles due north of OKC. We visit Wichita frequently and talk with them weekly, and usually whatever weather they are having will reach NW Arkansas a day or so later. The fronts generally come in from the WNW and in summer we are usually cooler than Wichita and in winter we are warmer. Less extreme. I believe it is similar for OKC, as there is no topography to slow down the nasty cold fronts in winter or the hot summer winds from the south in summer, just like in Wichita 100 miles to the north. In NW Arkansas we have the moderating effects of the surrounding Ozark hills and that tends to limit our extreme cold or hot temps. We also get more rain here than in OKC on a yearly basis. Hope this helps.

That's it exactly. The same is true of OKC, whatever weather we have, in the next day or so, Fayetteville gets it.

[prowler]

debzkidz, ozarkboy -

Thank you. As a youngster growing up in north central Illinois, bad winter weather conditions were just an accepted way of life. Thirty years later we were transferred to the south east part of Indiana and the winter weather was approximately 10–15 degrees warmer year round. We like it better here. Here in Indiana, we gauge whatever St Louis gets for weather and then wait 25 hours for the same to reach us. We’re mostly aware that our weather reaches us in a looping northeast pattern, seeming to originate in Texas or someplace like that.

We’re hoping to relocate to a place a bit warmer year-round, but we don’t want to lose all the hills and valleys and greenery we have learned to love. We also don’t want to totally lose the 4 seasons. The area in/around Fayetteville keeps drawing us in. Question: How much further south in Arkansas would you need to go in order to find the next noticeable change in warmer winter weather? Granted, down by Texarkana would be warmer, but then you’re in the high humidity, lower vegetation region, right?

We’ll be visiting in the next several weeks and want to thin our possible destinations as much as possible.

[jim9251]

Fayetteville will give you GREEN, and the hills you desire. The further south in Arkansas you go the hotter it gets and the higher humidity. I mean sweating like a sumo wrestler humidity. And mosquitoes, lots and lots of mosquitoes. I think once you spend time in Fayetteville, that is where you will want to relocate to.

[SpiderLadys]

...,,,Yes..Fayettville is OK I guess, but GOSH, I just like the warmer climate and people in Fort Smith. You will find everything you are looking for in Fort Smith.