[swake]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

How is Oklahoma not southern? The latitude is extemely far south. I visited Tulsa in May last year and got sunburned in 20 minutes. That was ridiculous. The state is a cultural hybrid and it is a mixture in that regard. Oklahoma has nothing in common with the climate of the Midwest and does not have well defined seasons, just extreme shifts in the weather. Southeast OK is allinged more with the South and Northeast OK is alligned more with the Ozarks (Upland South). The rest is mostly just generic Plains mixed with Southwest and Texas influences.

No defined seasons?

[swake]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

Nothing to see here.

AlabamaGreg is just another Deep South Purist. He's no Okie either, so it's good that he lives in Bama and hopefully will stay there....as well as his thoughts!

These arguments/discussions have been beat to death on this forum. Us real Okies know we're culturally a fine mix of Southwestern/Southern semblances with plenty of handsome NDNs and a whole heap of Cowboy. Nothing more needs to be said. Oklahoma the Deep South? Absolutely not and Thank You Sweet Baby Jesus.

Oklahoma/Texas/Western-Arkie and a slice of Louisiana have our own thing going on. Us folks here in the South-Central could care less about what some goon from Bama thinks.

It's attitudes like this why people often hate rural Oklahoma. Smiling emoticons don’t make it better. Thankfully a large and growing majority of Oklahomans live in large metropolitan areas and rural attitudes like this are becoming less and less common, even in less populated rural areas.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by swake

It's attitudes like this why people often hate rural Oklahoma. Smiling emoticons don’t make it better. Thankfully a large and growing majority of Oklahomans live in large metropolitan areas and rural attitudes like this are becoming less and less common, even in less populated rural areas.

Yeh Swake. (<---does this emoticon work for you?)

I agree Yankee transplants and city-slickers (or quite honestly mainly just negative attitudes = pot meet kettle?) aren't my thing because the vast majority want to make the place they're transplanted to something more like where they're transplanted from. That's why I don't want 'em coming here.

We already know you're opinion on us folks that prefer the Southern Plains to Metropolis. Go ahead, turn OK City/Tulsa into New York City....have at it. Just don't be so dense to believe that all Okies (in fact, I believe a small majority thinks the way you do on some of these matters) are on board with ya.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by swake

No defined seasons?

The seasonal changes are nothing like the northern tier of the US, Canada, and Europe. Seasonal changes in daylight are not very significant, and average winter temperatures are very mild with little snow.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

The seasonal changes are nothing like the northern tier of the US, Canada, and Europe. Seasonal changes in daylight are not very significant, and average winter temperatures are very mild with little snow.

Trust me, as someone, but surely not you, who has lived through the extreme seasonal changes of Oklahoma of the last year or two, from blizzards to day after day of 100 degree temperatures, Oklahoma does go through some highly impressive climate changes as the season transcends to the next one. And then those shocking below zero temps from last February, and ice storms from past years.

To make your case, you would need to go deep in the the Gulf Coast states, or California.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Trust me, as someone, but surely not you, who has lived through the extreme seasonal changes of Oklahoma of the last year or two, from blizzards to day after day of 100 degree temperatures, Oklahoma does go through some highly impressive climate changes as the season transcends to the next one. And then those shocking below zero temps from last February, and ice storms from past years.

To make your case, you would need to go deep in the the Gulf Coast states, or California.

I think that is his point to some extent...he said Oklahoma has "extreme shifts in weather." That's about right with our ridiculous heat (and humidity sometimes) along with the capability for frigid temps. In the true geographical Midwest there are clearly delineated seasons that are constant for a period of time. Oklahoma can be 70-80 degrees in February and below freezing the next day. So, I think he is pretty much spot on when it comes to the weather and topography of Oklahoma being different than authentic Midwestern states/areas.

Although part of the Southern Plains and by extension the Great Plains, Oklahoma (like the panhandle of Texas, for example) surely is a Southern "gateway" to the Midwest but cannot be considered a part of the true Midwest (Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Meechigan, Whiskey, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois).

Hopefully people will just look at a map and take a geography/history class (the Census does a fine job of classifying Oklahoma/Texas/Arkansas/Louisiana in the West South Central) to see where Oklahoma lies geographically and visit The Sooner State to take in our unique culture which is not Midwestern (as in the true Midwestern states listed above), but primarily a blend of Southwestern/Southern/Western semblances....and yes, Oklahoma's culture is different than the culture of Southeastern states too. I, for my part, am very proud of Oklahoma's unique culture and diverse history/background.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Trust me, as someone, but surely not you, who has lived through the extreme seasonal changes of Oklahoma of the last year or two, from blizzards to day after day of 100 degree temperatures, Oklahoma does go through some highly impressive climate changes as the season transcends to the next one. And then those shocking below zero temps from last February, and ice storms from past years.

To make your case, you would need to go deep in the the Gulf Coast states, or California.

I have a family member who lives in Oklahoma so I do know about the climate there. In a prior post I mentioned that Oklahoma has extreme shifts in the weather. I still wouldn't define the climate as having "four distinct seasons of equal proportions." Also, changes in daylight hours between Summer and Winter really are not very significant because of the low latitude. That blizzard last February with the -30F temperature at Nowata will likely never happen again.

[swake]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I have a family member who lives in Oklahoma so I do know about the climate there. In a prior post I mentioned that Oklahoma has extreme shifts in the weather. I still wouldn't define the climate as having "four distinct seasons of equal proportions." Also, changes in daylight hours between Summer and Winter really are not very significant because of the low latitude. That blizzard last February with the -30F temperature at Nowata will likely never happen again.

Tulsa's latitude is not that far south. We are about as far south as Virginia Beach, not Miami. Part of this is daylight savings but in the summer it will be light past 9:00 and in December it will get dark before 5:30, that's a pretty good shift.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by swake

Tulsa's latitude is not that far south. We are about as far south as Virginia Beach, not Miami. Part of this is daylight savings but in the summer it will be light past 9:00 and in December it will get dark before 5:30, that's a pretty good shift.

Oklahoma is like Texas more than another part of the US imho. Texas doesnt fit those national designations either. We arent southern in my view, we arent midwest we might be more southwest than those

[Zachj7]

I have only been here (Norman) for a year and a half, however I have had the chance to travel around the state.

While I mostly agree with the statement above, there are some exceptions around the state. Overall, I would tend to think of Oklahoma as more Texan than anything. I feel that OKC matches parts of Texas well however I feel that Tulsa matches Kansas City much more than Dallas, or most of Texas in general. I really do get a midwest vibe from Tulsa more so than a southern vibe however the southern culture is still very much there. In Oklahoma City, the southern culture is there with a bit more western feel. OKC does not feel midwestern to me very much (despite the name of a prominent suburb, Midwest City[yes i know where name came from]). With that said, all in all, Oklahoma feels more like Texas. I have yet to spend time in Bartlesville and Stillwater. Oklahoma really is the crossroads of the USA, and is mostly southern with a bit of western culture, and a splash of midwest. I suspect outside of Tulsa proper, it feels more southern, especially in the south.

These comments are from a former Californian who has spent a lot of time in the Midwest, and not as much in the south.

This is my map of Oklahoma. Of course this is my opinion and many will probably disagree, however this is just a little something I made up real fast. Perhaps the West should be more of a line and a bit more east and the Midwest shouldn't dive into Oklahoma as much, but here's a rough map.