Storm season is clocking back in for central and southern Oklahoma on Friday, with another shift on Saturday looking possible. Strong to marginally severe thunderstorms are expected Friday afternoon and evening, and the Oklahoma City metro is right in the line of fire during the afternoon commute. Forecasters say the overall risk is on the low side but still very real, with hail up to half-dollar size, damaging wind gusts near 60 mph, and a small chance of an isolated tornado. As the system slides east, a second round of storms could follow into Saturday.
SPC outlines Friday's risk
The Storm Prediction Center has placed parts of central and eastern Oklahoma under a Marginal, or level 1, risk in its Day 2 convective outlook for Friday. That means isolated storms could produce large hail and damaging winds, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Forecasters there expect scattered to isolated thunderstorms from portions of Oklahoma into the Ozarks Friday into Friday night, but say confidence is still too low to bump the area into a higher risk category.
Local timing and threats
KOCO Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane is circling a tight late-afternoon to evening window for much of the state. Lane puts Friday's tornado index at 1 on a 1 to 10 scale and says storms may first fire up near Stillwater, then slide toward Hinton and Clinton around 4 to 5 p.m., reach the Oklahoma City metro about 6 to 7 p.m., and move on to Chickasha, Norman, Shawnee, and Seminole by 7 to 8 p.m., as reported by KOCO. He also notes storms could intensify later in the evening across southern Oklahoma, and that another shot at severe weather is on the table for Saturday.
What the metro should watch for
Warm air will be doing its part to fuel the setup. Point-and-click forecasts for central Oklahoma show highs climbing into the mid to upper 80s on Friday, a combination that can boost afternoon instability, according to the National Weather Service in Norman. The SPC's Day 3 outlook keeps a Marginal risk over portions of the southern and central Plains for Saturday, suggesting mainly wind-and-hail type storms could hang around into the weekend. With much of Friday's potential activity lining up with evening drive time, forecasters are urging residents to keep a close eye on any watches and warnings.
How to prepare
If a Warning is issued, the key is to move quickly. Have a safe room or an interior, window-free spot picked out ahead of time, keep phones and other devices charged, and rely on more than one way to get alerts, advice that matches federal preparedness guidance from Ready.gov. If storms roll in while you are driving around the metro, slow down, stay off flooded roads, and skip the temptation to park under highway overpasses. Check radar and local forecasts before heading out Friday afternoon and keep tabs on updates into the evening.
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