OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — A tornado watch has been issued for multiple counties statewide until 12 a.m. Wednesday night.

The counties included in the watch are Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Jefferson, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, McClain, Murray, Noble,, Oklahoma, Osage, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills, Stephens, Tilman, Washita, Woods and Woodward.

The National Weather Service in Norman said that, along with a chance for tornadoes, hazards include large hail and damaging winds.

Oklahoma could see strong to severe storms across most of the state on Wednesday.

There is a slight to enhanced risk of severe weather after 4 p.m. for most of the state.

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(KXII) – Foragers from across the country travel to Oklahoma each spring for the chance to find morel mushrooms.

The rare, wild, edible fungi are known for their honeycomb-like caps and a savory, nutty taste.

Steven Landseadel, a Florida resident, said he travels halfway across the country to hunt for the mushrooms. He has found as many as 20 morels near the Red River.

“I was ecstatic, to say the least,” Landseadel said.

The mushrooms are so popular in Oklahoma that Rep. John George, R-Newalla, is giving them a chance to be the state mushroom.

“I decided I’m gonna run a fun bill. It’s OK to have a little fun at the capital because tens of thousands of people hunt morel mushrooms,” George said.

George is the author of House Bill 3263 and said it was inspired by his own love of hunting the fungi.

“I grew up as a hunter and in a good year I find 300 or 400,” George said.

Many foragers are protective of the mushrooms and keep their locations secret, making it harder for others to find them.

“All I’ll tell you is I find them in the woods,” said Jacob Toews, a local morel hunter.

“A lot of people have a spot but they don’t want to tell you it because they left all their mushrooms growing there,” Landseadel said.

When foragers do find the mushrooms, they use them in various meals.

“I bread them and fry them and I also make a soup. It’s delicious,” Toews said.

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Democrats in the Oklahoma legislature are raising their concerns about what the state budget could look like this year.

Democratic leadership held a press conference on Tuesday to speak on funding concerns they have on everything from healthcare to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to education as power in how the state budget is crafted rests mainly in the hands of Republicans.

“Oklahomans are really drowning and we’re not throwing them a rope right now,” Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D-Oklahoma City) said.

As Oklahoma lawmakers enter their second month of the 2026 legislative session, budget negotiations and conversations are intensifying in what is expected to be a tight budget year.

Democrats say transparency is lacking from their Republican colleagues.

“There’s so many major troubles in the public eye around our budget when it comes to affording homes, affording childcare, being able to find the healthcare they need, and we are not seeing transparency from our Republican colleagues,” Kirt said.

Kirt said years of tax cuts have left the state with no flexibility coming into this year.

“We’ve had an estimated 1.6 billion in tax cuts in the last five years limiting our options a lot,” she said. “And so when we see these challenges what are we gonna see in terms of solutions? We have not had that transparency to give you any idea what’s happening but we wanna raise the alarm that it’s gonna be too late for people to chime in if they don’t speak up now about what they think the priorities should be.”

House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) echoed the same sentiment.

“We’ve heard rumors about cuts to agencies and that there will be flat budgets, but we know that they will go deeper as years go on if the legislature doesn’t get it together and figure out a way to increase revenue to pay for core functions of government,” Munson said.

About a month and a half ago, Republican State Senators proposed a $254 million funding plan that would redirect funds from the Teacher Retirement System.

“I find myself wondering how we will pay for this massive package we’re talking about, the third grade reading and math initiatives that we have set in play and have been highlighted as cornerstones of what we hope to accomplish this session. And it’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. The final price tag of those things continues to swing from one extreme to the other,” State Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) said.

Right now, nothing concrete has been announced on what the final budget number will be.