Western/Central Oklahoma
A few cities include: Lawton, Oklahoma City and Woodward.
Local tornado season: Peaks between late April and early June.
Terrain: A mixture of plains and hills.
Road network: Reasonable in most areas, but there are some gaps.
Radar coverage: Good in most areas.
Western and central Oklahoma may be the epicenter when it comes to tornado alley and storm chasing. The Oklahoma City metro has been the target of several significant tornado events over the years and it only takes a short drive west to reach the open Plains.
Tornadoes are common during the spring across western and central Oklahoma. Most spring seasons can expect at least one or two days with significant tornadoes. In addition to tornadoes, this area frequently observes very large (2″+) hail when there are supercell thunderstorms. Local car dealerships are known for having “hail sales” when a destructive hail storm damages their outdoor inventory.
A classic supercell setup in western Oklahoma features a dryline with westerly deep layer shear vectors crossing the boundary orthogonally. When such a setup occurs within a few hours of Oklahoma City, be prepared for storm chaser “convergence.” This includes hundreds of storm chasers crowding around storms, which can create a challenge on the roads.
Terrain
The terrain is not nearly as favorable for storm chasing in western/central Oklahoma as one might think. Northwestern Oklahoma has some hilly areas, while sections of southwestern Oklahoma are tough to chase around the Wichita Mountains. South-central Oklahoma also has some forested, wetland areas, which can make it difficult to chase. So, while there are plenty of plains and prairies, central and western Oklahoma is also dotted with a few terrain obstacles.
Road network
Most of central and western Oklahoma has a grid road network. However, this does not mean that it is easy to chase on every road. Many of these roads are packed with iconic red Oklahoma clay. This type of surface can quickly become impassable when it starts to rain. Some roads also turn into sand, so keep an eye on the road surface should you venture onto secondary roads.
There are not too many large gaps in the road network across western/central Oklahoma. Keep in mind that your only option to get close to a storm might involve roads of questionable consistency.
The major freeways in western/central Oklahoma are I-35, I-40 and I-44. I-35 is often considered the line between plains and hills/forests, but it’s not as simple as that. I-35 in north-central Oklahoma has decent chase terrain on both the west and east sides. South of Oklahoma City, I-35 does tend to be more forested on its east side. With that said, even some sections to the west are tough to chase through.
I-40 west of Oklahoma City brings you into more classic chase areas. This is often the route one will drive west on to find storms and venture back east on to wrap up a chase. I-44 has some hilly, forested and densely populated areas along its route between Oklahoma City and the Texas border, which can be tricky to navigate around.
Radar coverage
Most of central and western Oklahoma usually has good radar coverage. KTLX covers all of central Oklahoma, while KVNX covers most of north-central and northwestern Oklahoma. There is some limited coverage in west-central Oklahoma, between roughly Elk City and Woodward, KAMA and to a lesser extent KDDC can help offset this. South, by the Red River in south-central Oklahoma, radar coverage can be a bit limited, as the area falls on the outer fringes of both KTLX to the north and KFWS to the south.
KFDR deserves its own paragraph. Although it covers most of southwestern Oklahoma, it is notorious for having outages, sometimes even the morning leading up to a tornado outbreak. Since KFDR does not have much overlap with other radar sites, if it goes down, that could spell trouble. Consider that there is already some gap between radar sites to the west of KFDR, without the radar operating, there may be no radar data at all for storms approaching from the west or southwest.
In summary, western and central Oklahoma is a hot spot for supercell thunderstorms, tornadoes and storm chasing in general, but it is not as easy to chase as one might expect. Hilly areas, trees and questionable road surfaces can make navigating the area a challenge. Radar coverage usually cooperates, assuming KFDR does not have one of its infamous outages during a severe weather outbreak.