A tornado watch covers much of Oklahoma, central and southern Kansas and part of northwest Texas until 10 p.m. Central time Monday, including Oklahoma City, Norman, Wichita, Salina, Lawton and Wichita Falls. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center issued Tornado Watch 701 at 1:25 p.m. Central (11:25 a.m. Pacific). It says a few tornadoes are possible, including "a couple intense tornadoes," with gusts up to 75 mph and hail as large as 2 inches.

A watch means the setup favors tornadoes. A warning, issued by a local Weather Service office, means one is happening or about to, and that is the signal to take shelter.

Where the watch is

Map of Tornado Watch 701 shaded over central and southern Kansas, western and central Oklahoma and northwest Texas
Tornado Watch 701 runs from 1:25 p.m. until 10 p.m. Central on Nov. 2.NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center / SPC / Public domain

The watch includes 39 Oklahoma counties, Oklahoma and Cleveland among them, and 26 in Kansas such as Sedgwick and Reno, according to the Weather Service's active alerts. Eight Texas counties are in it too. In Pacific time it runs from 11:25 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Storm Prediction Center's outlook for Monday puts north-central Oklahoma and south-central Kansas at an enhanced risk of severe storms, level 3 on its five-step scale.

Hail comes first, forecasters say. The bigger tornado and wind risk builds late in the afternoon from storms that form along a dry line over western Oklahoma and south-central Kansas and race northeast, and by early evening a cold front should catch up and push them into lines, raising the chance of damaging straight-line wind.

No tornado warnings had been issued in the watch area as of 2:07 p.m. Central. The Norman Weather Service office had two severe thunderstorm warnings out, one for parts of the Oklahoma City area and one for Lincoln and Payne counties.

What to do if a warning is issued

The Weather Service's tornado safety advice is to go to a basement, safe room or interior room away from windows. Mobile homes and sheds are not safe, so people living or working in one should decide now which sturdy building they would head to. Keep a phone charged and emergency alerts turned on, since forecasters expect the storms to move quickly and keep going into the evening.