Oklahoma · 226 m elevation

Barometric Pressure in Tulsa, OK

• 30.02Average pressure (inHg, sea level)
• 191.0Swing days a year · 23rd of 50
• 101.4Big-swing days a year (≥10 hPa)
• 108.6Significant 24h drop days a year

Overview

Tulsa averages 30.02 inHg (1016.6 hPa) with 191 significant swing days a year — 26.2 in January but just 1.6 in July. Records, seasons, and swing data.

Tulsa's barometric pressure averages 30.02 inHg (1016.6 hPa) at sea level, with a standard deviation of 0.22 inHg (7.31 hPa). Half of all hours fall within a hair of 30.00 inHg (1015.8 hPa), and 90% land between 29.70 inHg (1005.6 hPa) and 30.41 inHg (1029.9 hPa) — a working range of about 0.72 inHg (24.3 hPa).

At 226 meters of elevation, Tulsa sits high enough for the station-versus-sea-level distinction to matter. Mean actual station pressure is 29.23 inHg (989.9 hPa), roughly 0.79 inHg (26.7 hPa) below the sea-level-adjusted figure. A home barometer that hasn't been calibrated for altitude will center near 29.23 inHg rather than 30.02 inHg. That offset is constant; it shifts your readings without changing the shape of the day-to-day movement.

Nationally, Tulsa lands in the upper middle. It records 191 significant swing days per year — 24-hour changes of at least 0.18 inHg (6 hPa) — ranking #23 of 50 cities against a national median of 180.7. Big-swing days of 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) or more come 101.4 times a year, #22 of 50 and about 18% above the median of 86.1. But Tulsa's largest single 24-hour drop on record, -0.81 inHg (-27.3 hPa), ranks only #34. That gap is the city's signature: frequent, moderate frontal movement rather than the deep bombs that hit coastal cities. Boston's worst 24-hour fall is nearly twice as large. Tulsa also rises harder than it falls — the record 24-hour gain of +1.06 inHg (+36 hPa) exceeds its steepest drop, the mark of strong continental highs surging in behind Plains cold fronts.

Migraine & pressure-sensitivity outlook

• Low — under 6 hPa (0.18 inHg)
• Elevated — 6 to 10 hPa
• High — 10 hPa (0.30 inHg) or more
• Dashed outline = forecast (after today)

Association only. This calendar shows days when pressure changed — or is forecast to change — sharply over 24 hours, conditions associated with pressure sensitivity in some people. It is not a prediction of symptoms, not a diagnosis, and not medical advice. The 30 days of history are there so you can compare the days you actually felt something against what the barometer did. Talk to a clinician about headache or migraine management.

For people who track barometric pressure, Tulsa's numbers describe a demanding half-year and a genuinely easy one. Across a typical year there are 191 days with a 24-hour change of at least 0.18 inHg (6 hPa), of which 108.6 are drops — the direction many pressure-sensitive people report as a trigger. Big-swing days of 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) or more occur 101.4 times a year. On a median day the 24-hour change is only 0.10 inHg (3.3 hPa), but the 95th percentile reaches 0.41 inHg (14 hPa), and the typical 24-hour range runs from -0.30 inHg (-10.3 hPa) to +0.35 inHg (+11.8 hPa).

The calendar concentration matters more than the annual total. January brings 16.5 drop days, February 15.5, March 14.0, and December 13.9. July brings 0.4 and August 1.1. Anyone logging symptoms against pressure in Tulsa should expect the data to cluster heavily between November and April, with a May-to-September stretch that produces conditions many pressure-sensitive people report as triggers only a handful of times.

Against other cities, Tulsa sees about 9.6 times the swing days of Miami and roughly 32 times the big-swing days. It runs 1.78 times Houston's swing count and 2.6 times its big-swing count despite sharing the same Gulf air mass — Tulsa simply sits far enough north to catch the fronts. Compared with the most volatile cities it is calmer: Denver logs 281.6 swing days, about 1.47 times Tulsa's total. Oklahoma City is a near-twin at 195.3 swing days, while Wichita, north of Tulsa, jumps to 222.7 — a useful reminder of how quickly frontal exposure increases across the southern Plains.

Seasonal patterns

Tulsa's pressure year works like a switch. January delivers 26.2 significant swing days with a monthly standard deviation of 0.28 inHg (9.41 hPa) and a mean of 30.16 inHg (1021.4 hPa). July delivers 1.6 swing days, a standard deviation of 0.09 inHg (3.05 hPa), and a mean of 29.95 inHg (1014.2 hPa). That is roughly sixteen times more swing activity in January than in July — an unusually wide seasonal contrast for a city ranked mid-pack overall.

The driver is the winter storm track. From November through April, Pacific and Canadian fronts sweep across the southern Plains in sequence, each followed by a strong post-frontal high. October already runs 19.5 swing days, November 23.1, and April 20.3, so the active season is long. By June the subtropical ridge settles over Oklahoma, the gradient collapses, and the barometer goes quiet: June 6.3 swing days, July 1.6, August 3.2, September 6.3. Monthly mean pressure bottoms out at 29.91 inHg (1012.8 hPa) in June.

Every extreme in the record is a cold-season event. The highest reading was 31.04 inHg (1051.3 hPa) on January 7, 2015 — and the joint-largest 24-hour drop on record, -0.81 inHg (-27.3 hPa), ended the very next afternoon, January 8, 2015, as that high moved off. Two other events tie that mark: December 16, 2016 and February 27, 2023. Behind them sit -0.74 inHg (-25.0 hPa) on January 10, 2017 and -0.72 inHg (-24.5 hPa) on March 13, 2019. The record low, 29.19 inHg (988.5 hPa), came on December 23, 2015. The fastest six-hour fall on record is -0.41 inHg (-13.9 hPa).

Month by month

Swing days: 24-hour change of at least 6 hPa (0.18 inHg). Drop days: 24-hour fall of at least 6 hPa. Averages per year, 2015–2024.

Records and extremes

Sharpest 24-hour drops, 2015–2024

Nearby cities

• Oklahoma City, OK
• Wichita, KS
• Kansas City, MO
• Dallas, TX
• Fort Worth, TX
• Memphis, TN

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