OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Wednesday night is not going to be quiet across the southern Plains. A potentially significant squall line is expected to push through North Texas, Oklahoma and southern Kansas during the overnight hours of April 1 into early April 2 — and the detailed forecast for this event is now specific enough to name the cities at greatest risk, call the timing to the hour and identify exactly which threats will be highest at each stage of the storm’s evolution. If you are in Wichita Falls, Lawton, Oklahoma City, Enid or anywhere along the H.E. Bailey Turnpike corridor, Wednesday night demands your full attention before you go to sleep.
How This Storm Evolves: Hour by Hour
This is not a storm system that arrives all at once and moves through. It has a clear and well-defined evolution — from discrete supercells in the early evening to an organized squall line by late night — and each phase of that evolution carries its own specific threat profile.
6:00 to 7:00 PM — Storms Blossom Along the Dryline
The initial storm development is expected to begin around 6 or 7 PM Wednesday evening along a sharpening dryline. A dryline is the boundary between the warm, moist air sitting over the Plains and the hot, dry air pushing in from the west — and it is one of the most reliable storm triggers in the atmosphere across Oklahoma and North Texas during spring…