Oklahoma’s Storms Hit Pause. Now a Whole Week of Weather Is Ahead

When Oklahomans woke up Sunday, the reaction across the state felt identical. This was the big severe weather weekend we were warned about? Just rain? Social media filled up fast with the same question. What happened to the storms? The short answer is simple.

The forecast changed.

The longer answer explains why this week could still get wild.

I went to bed Saturday thinking how fortunate we all were, having missed what meteorologists and the National Weather Service indicated would be a big day of severe weather. And while there were a handful of very small storms across the state with a little bit of hail, I don't think there was even one severe weather alert aside from rainfall and areal flooding advisories in Oklahoma.

Sunday turned out to be much of the same. Social media filled up quickly with a common theme, people wondering "What gives?"

Here's the thing, they changed the forecast.

The National Weather Service issues the forecast of what the weather is most likely going to do, and they're the absolute best at it. Your local weather professionals then tailor those wide predictions to better fit where you live, and it all generally works... but this weekend didn't follow the script, and while we all waited on the severe weather to hit, it pressed pause.

Now much of Oklahoma is expecting big rain, hail, and an elevated risk of tornadoes, now (Monday) through Friday. A whole week of white-knuckle weather.

What To Expect This Week

Today's main threat is going to be wind and rain, maybe a little hail up to the size of golf balls. Now, that doesn't mean you're going to get golfball-sized hail, it just means the worst-affected areas might see hail up to that size.

Tuesday is when the threats really start elevating across an even wider swath of the Sooner State.

Rain and wind, yes. Hail upwards of 2 inches, yes. And tornadoes are more likely, but still considered a low risk. It's going to be the widespread nature of the storms that will determine if one supercell has the potential to spin off a twister or not.

Wednesday is more of the same, but more spread out. Popcorn storms.

These early-season storms are the most unpredictable.

Why Spring Storms Are So Hard To Predict

They show up as little popcorn storms, and sometimes they quickly grow into those familiar screaming eagle patterns that spit out tornadoes. It's impossible to know which one will do it, but as conditions change in real time, meteorologists will have a better idea where the warned areas will be.

As we get into Wednesday, these threats will move off into Eastern OK, and Thursday is still an unknown. That being said, our next storm system is already stacking up for another weekend surprise starting Friday, so be aware of that.

Should you start changing plans you have in store for the weekend? Nah. Many people did that over the past weekend, and look what happened... incredibly beneficial rain. Prepare for the forecast, and be thankful when it's wrong. It's springtime in Oklahoma, and you just can't let the forecast dictate your fun. Always play it by ear.