Caught on Video, the Unrelenting Severe Weather in Southwest Okla

After drying out to drought status the last few months, Southwest and Southern Oklahoma have received a worrying amount of rain in the last week, ten inches locally in Lawton, even more in portions of the state to the South and East of us along the Red River.

Between the mountains and our many rivers and creeks, and the fact that early settlers chose to build cities and towns along those waterways, the flooding has been horrifically devastating to many Oklahomans.

While tornadoes and monster hail came through some communities...

...the rain turned out to be the big issue with the introduction of the severe weather season.

If you've never experienced rain in Lawton, Oklahoma, congratulations. The city was not built to handle water, and while we citizens wish and hope for a fix to our water drainage issues, it's realistically something that should have been considered 100 years ago.

Not only would it cost an immeasurable amount of money to remedy, but most don't have much faith in a city government that can't handle maintaining roads, let alone flooding abatement.

Flooding on this scale doesn't happen very often in Lawton, but when it does, it makes national headlines.

@thisisoklahoma580 Lawton , Oklahoma is flooding again please be safe #lawton #oklahoma #flood #severeweather #police #firstresponders ♬ Police Siren Sound Effect - Beats by Talent

@thisisoklahoma405 Lawton , Oklahoma is flooding April 26 , 2025 These photos are from Nate McCall in Lawton Videos from RenderNature & Lawton Grapevine on Facebook Also Pecan Lakes North in Lawton #flood #oklahoma #disaster #wow #weather ♬ Epic News - DM Production

@thisisoklahoma405 Deer running in Lawton , Oklahoma flood. Good news = Even though this creek runs deep deer are great at swimming #flood #lawton #oklahoma #deer ♬ Epic News - DM Production

In reality, Lawton is built within the foothills of the Wichita Mountains, and as it has for thousands or millions of years, water flows to the lowest points of the landscape. As Lawton climbs and descends in all directions within city limits, just about every neighborhood drains to at least one main area, flooding the poor souls who live there every five years when these kinds of rains happen.

@trendy_viewz Terrible #floods due to extreme rainfall in Lawton of #Oklahoma ♬ original sound - Trendy_viewz

Though in the true spirit of Oklahoma, some manage to treat tragedy with a dose of humor.

@connerjmOcean front property in Lawton Oklahoma only 200 million dollars and it’s yours
♬ Ocean Front Property - George Strait

@blak_independent4.0 Lawton Oklahoma is officially in round 2 of flash flooding just 4 days after the first flash flood. #LawtonFlooding #LawtonOklahomaFlood2025 #FlashFlood #OklahomaStorms #Oklahoma #LawtonOklahoma #WestWin #ShutDownWestWin ♬ Like a Prayer - Madonna

Ironically, this flooding event couldn't have come at a better time for citizens, which happens to be the worst time for the Lawton City Council and Mayor Booker. In an effort to save money while giving raises to our first responders at the Lawton Fire Department, they've been floating around an idea to cut the LFD staff and close at least one firehouse.

The amount of rescues LFD has performed over the last week is the best reminder to those we entrust with our tax dollars that the fire department is far more important than the new aquatic center they're so adamant about completing at any cost.

Oklahoma's Twistiest Roads

Whether it's the bountiful beauty of Oklahoma you seek, or a fun and spirited drive, here are some great twisty roads to cruise across Oklahoma.

The Wonders of Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle

Often called the Grand Canyon of Texas, it's easy to feel small when surrounded by the towering land. Palo Duro offers stellar hiking and biking, camping, and even cabins to plan more of a family or lovers getaway. Explore it on foot, on wheels, on horses, etc. Cap off the day with an authentic taqueria meal in Amarillo, if you can stand the smell. They don't call it "Cow Town" for nothing.

Gallery Credit: Kelso

Lawton's Worst Roads As Voted By You

Roads have always been a hot topic in Lawton. The local government always promises to fix them when elections are at stake, but the improvements never come. It's more of the same, crumbling roads and band-aid patches due to what the city describes as "too little funding," even though we continually vote for bonds to satisfy these issues.

Here are the worst commonly used roads in Lawton as voted by you.

Gallery Credit: Kelso