Guess I better see what's in store for me in San Antonio......
Well, driving on ice is no mystery, as long as one maintains speed in 5-10 mph range.
Rut Roh
Be sure to stock up on beer and toilet paper! We had a tornado warning in the Waco suburbs this evening.
How big a circle do you find to be ideal?
You should be okay if the freezing rain moves through quickly, but if it hangs around and keeps building up on things, then there could be some difficulty.
Batten the hatches, make a trip to your favorite mercantile if necessary for some batteries, candles and a Coleman lantern and cook stove. Ya never know how long those power lines may be on the ground.
It's 9 degrees here (Minnesota) right now, so freezing rain isn't a worry. They say we may get some snow though. We have nary a flake on the ground right now and have only had about ten inches all winter so far, which came in two doses and promptly melted.
Good luck!
Update from Oklahoma 5AM (CST)
Apparently there are three storms that will hit. The first wave passed a few hours ago and dumped over an inch of ice on everything. It's beautiful but it's knocking out power all over the state. The TV reports tree limbs hitting houses and fatalities on the roadway. Typical fair.
I-44 is hit pretty hard because the storm waves seems to be lining up and running the path from TX/NM, through OK into MO and beyonf--sorta the same path as the March 2006 tornadoes. Reports have speeds crawling with many accidents.
The second and third waves will hit sometime this morning and late evening respectively with fresh ice, sleet and snow.
We lost power and just came back online 1/2 hour ago. The temp in the house fell but not that bad. Electric company is earning its keep maintaining service throughout OK, especially since some crews went out west to help Denver, etc. and just came home.
Winter Storm Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 1220 PM CST SAT JAN 13 2007
...WINTER STORM SYSTEM TO LIKELY PRODUCE ICY WEATHER OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY...
.A LARGE UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL INTERACT WITH AN ARCTIC SURGE OF COLD AIR TO PRODUCE A DANGEROUS ICE STORM OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. COLD AIR WILL SPILL SOUTH ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT WITH NEAR FREEZING CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS AN AREA GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF AN SONORA TO LEAKEY TO NEW BRAUNFELS TO LAGRANGE LINE. THE AIR TEMPERATURES SHOULD MODERATE ONLY SLIGHTLY DURING THE DAY SUNDAY BEFORE THE SUB-FREEZING AIR PROCEEDS SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS SUNDAY NIGHT.
ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO OVERRUN THIS COLD AIR MASS THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...WITH SOME AREAS SEEING LIQUID PRECIPITATION CHANGING OVER SNOW AS EARLY AS MONDAY. SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS UP TO ONE-HALF TO ONE INCH ARE POSSIBLE.
TXZ171>173-184>194-206-208-209-140600- /O.NEW.KEWX.WS.W.0001.070114T0600Z-070115T1800Z/ LLANO-BURNET-WILLIAMSON-EDWARDS-REAL-KERR-BANDERA-GILLESPIE- KENDALL-BLANCO-HAYS-TRAVIS-BASTROP-LEE-COMAL-CALDWELL-FAYETTE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LLANO...BURNET...GEORGETOWN... ROCKSPRINGS...LEAKEY...KERRVILLE...BANDERA...FREDERICKSBURG... BOERNE...BLANCO...SAN MARCOS...AUSTIN...BASTROP...GIDDINGS... NEW BRAUNFELS...LOCKHART...LA GRANGE 1220 PM CST SAT JAN 13 2007
...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST MONDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST MONDAY.
EXPECT RAIN TO CHANGE OVER TO FREEZING RAIN LATE TONIGHT AS TEMPERATURE FALL TO FREEZING. A FEW PATCHES OF SLEET ARE POSSIBLE. OVERRUNNING RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY MORNING WITH SOME AREAS SEEING THE RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW MONDAY. THE CHANCE OF FROZEN PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY...BUT AMOUNTS ARE EPXECTED TO DECREASE AFTER MIDDAY MONDAY.
ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE COULD REACH ONE-HALF TO ONE INCH DUE TO THE CONTINUED EXPOSURE TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES. THIS COULD RESULT IN DAMAGE TO POWERLINES AND TREES. HAZARDOUS TRAVEL WILL BE EXACERBATED BY THE EXCESS RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINS...WHICH COULD RESULT IN MANY ROAD CLOSURES.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW...SLEET... FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THIS WILL CAUSE CONSIDERABLE TRAVEL PROBLEMS AND MAY POSE A THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.
ANOTHER STATEMENT ON THIS RAPIDLY EVOLVING WEATHER EVENT WILL BE ISSUED BY LATE THIS EVENING.