Keep Your Head On A Swivel, Oklahoma’s Wednesday Forecast Is A Doosey

We've been warned about today's weather for the past few days, and now that Wednesday is here, what exactly can we expect? Well, while nobody can predict the future when the National Weather Service advises you to look out, you should probably lookout.

If you're new to Oklahoma, welcome to the elusive fifth weather season we enjoy here. It's storm season and it's as unpredictable as it gets. A storm can be headed straight for you with a hail-core carrying softball-sized stones in one minute, then dissipate completely over the next thirty seconds, and vice-versa.

The weather happens quickly even if you've had days of warnings about it, the calmer the people on TV are the worse it really is, and there's a system of sirens all around this part of the state that will let you know when it's time to go outside and film something spectacular.

The most trusted authority in weather has always been the National Weather Service. Ours is headquartered in Norman, and if they say it's going to happen, odds are it's going to happen. Also, fun fact... the people and weather experts on TV are usually just reading the forecast straight from the reports from the National Weather Service... not always, but most of the time.

Here's what Southwest Oklahoma is expecting at some point today.

As you can see, while we've already had our yearly baptism into the world of severe weather, Mother Nature is turning up the heat on us in SWOK today. The winds are never fun to deal with. While baseball size hail is terrifying, it almost never reaches the actual predicted size. And tornadoes are pretty dang rare in and around Lawton. We're in the portion of Oklahoma that grows tornadoes and sends them off towards OKC. Still, it can be worrisome.

The most important of all the details usually deals with timing. If there are going to be tornadoes, we'd much rather have them in the daytime. Not only because it's easier to snap photos of them, but that primary first search of the debris field is easier in the daylight.

Even if the storms do start early in the day, that doesn't mean the threat of something big happening ends as the sun goes down... Mother Nature has all day and all night to do whatever she is going to do. If anything, hope that the temperature starts dropping quickly. That's the tell-tale sign the conditions are becoming less and less favorable for twisters as the atmosphere stabilizes.

Update: While the timeline is shifting, the forecast isn't changing. Keep your head on a swivel and make sure you're ready for anything. Clean out your storm shelter, closet, a small room on the lowest floor, etc... and be ready to hang out in there. Also, let someone know that you'll be in that spot in the case a tornado does head your way. If anything, emergency crews will know where to begin looking for you.