Posted on 03/21/2010 7:23:04 AM PDT by JoeProBono
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- More snow is expected as part of a powerful storm blowing through Oklahoma and the southern Plains on the weekend of spring.
The National Weather Service says the snow will keep falling across much of eastern Oklahoma and into northwest Arkansas on Sunday, with up to 6 more inches possible. That means some part of the two states will have gotten more than a foot of snow since the storm began Saturday.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
4-5 inches on the ground here in NE Texas this morning.
You must be a tad further north than me; we’ve only got about half an inch (Longview area).
lol, and we’ve *never* had snow like that. Regardless, there will be hundreds of wrecks around here today just because people will *think* the roads are treacherous.
Looks like Oklahoma State University. At least our women’s basketball team knows how to win.
About a half inch here in Tyler as well, still snowing moderately.
This is just more proof that Climate Change—aka Global Warming—is an immediate and serious threat to life on earth as we have known it.
In SW Arkansas we are getting snow, but it is not sticking much. The ground is too warm, but it is sticking to mailboxes, birdfeeders, trees, that sort of thing. Maternal Mineral like snow, but not now with the flowers and other plants she put out blooming. I hope Mother Nature doesn’t decide to balance the colder winter we had with a very hot summer. Last year’s summer was very mild and more endurable than usual.
We've had these March snowstorms forever around here... :-)
Spring may have to wait in state
BY BRYAN PAINTER
Published: March 19, 2010
Oklahoma has a very fresh memory of the fact that the end of winter does not mean the end of wintry weather.
Spring officially begins Saturday, but it may just be a continuation of winter in Oklahoma.
A winter storm watch is in effect from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. Temperatures Saturday may be about 35 to 40 degrees cooler than today’s high temperatures. Strong north winds are expected to drop wind chills into the teens and 20s in most areas Saturday.
Snow appears likely near and north of Interstate 40 in the western two-thirds of the state. Local amounts over 8 inches are forecast for north-central Oklahoma, with a threat of dropping into central Oklahoma, the weather service said.
Other areas could see accumulations of more than 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts over 45 mph will produce blowing and drifting snow, and blizzard conditions may exist at times, the weather service said.
Before the snow, though, rain and thunderstorms are expected to break out along a cold front this afternoon in southwest, west-central and northern Oklahoma, with winds of 30 mph gusting over 40 mph. It should spread east and south tonight as cold air plunges deeper into the region, the weather service said.
The timeline and intensity of a winter storm changes rapidly, making it important to continue to monitor the weather, said Mike Foster, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service, Norman Forecast Office.
"This winter has been very active with record or near-record snow and ice events, each of which has presented very complex forecast problems,” he said. "The storm expected to impact us Friday and Saturday, is no exception.
"This very dynamic late winter storm will produce snow for many locations, but the amount at any spot will depend on small scale moisture and temperature details, which are still to be determined.”
Just a year ago, areas of Oklahoma received a state record dose of snow, a few days into spring.
On March 27-28, 2009, portions of northwest Oklahoma received more snow in a 24-hour period than any time since records began in 1892, with official measurements of 26 inches at Woodward and Freedom. Unofficial totals were even greater. The hardest hit areas in Oklahoma were in the extreme northwest as well as into the Panhandle.
Accumulations are not expected to reach those proportions. But, winter is expected to end with some of the same intensity it has displayed for months. And thus stores may see increased activity.
"We will sell a lot of milk and other groceries tomorrow for two reasons,” Terry Holden, a Braum’s spokesman said Thursday. "First, everybody who was going to come in Saturday will move it up a day. Second, folks do store up before bad weather.”
This winter’s weather
The winter of 2009-10 was not the coldest in Oklahoma history. It will end somewhere in the middle of the pack.
And, it was not the wettest, ranked at 23rd statewide going into Thursday.
"However, the cold and wet weather seemed to coincide at the most inopportune times to produce more bouts with frozen precipitation than we have seen in recent years,” said Gary McManus of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.
Two storms definitely stand out, the Christmas Eve blizzard and the Jan. 28-29 ice storm.
"One of the strangest things about this winter, as it turns out, was not the cold weather but the lack of any substantial warm weather,” McManus said. "Oklahoma winters tend to be mild with intermittent bouts of frigid weather and pleasantly warm weather. The really cold weather showed, but the pleasantly warm weather was largely absent.”
With 20.7 inches of snow this winter, Oklahoma City enters the upcoming storm 4.5 inches short of tying its record.
Also this winter, temperatures in Oklahoma City dipped as low as 6 degrees on Jan. 10 and failed to reach 70 degrees, coming close with 69 degrees on March 5.
The highest temperature recorded this winter was 75 degrees at both Hollis and Waurika. The Oklahoma Mesonet failed to record a 70-degree temperature during February for the first time since the network’s inception in 1994.
The southern half of the state received far more moisture than did the northern half, McManus said. Up to 16 inches of precipitation fell in the southeast compared to just over 2 inches in the extreme northwest.
"That is a signature of an El Nino-influenced precipitation pattern,” McManus said.
Will spring arrive?
Eventually spring weather will show up.
But what will that mean this year?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center says odds currently favor wetter-than-normal conditions in the Panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma and below-normal temperatures throughout most of the state.
Office of Governor Brad Henry
State of Oklahoma
State Capitol - Oklahoma City OK 73105
(405) 521-2342
State of Emergency Declared in Preparation for Winter Storm
March 19, 2010
Oklahoma City — State officials declared a state of emergency late Friday in all 77 of Oklahoma’s counties in preparation for a blizzard forecast in Oklahoma expected to bring snow and frigid temperatures to much of the state, as well as the potential for ice or flooding in some areas.
At the request of Gov. Henry, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins approved the paperwork declaring the emergency.
The declaration provides a formal mechanism for local governments to seek reimbursement for recovery costs through the state’s disaster public assistance program should conditions warrant. The executive order is also the first step toward seeking federal aid should it be necessary.
Gov. Henry is on a family trip to Colorado and is returning to the state on Saturday.
The State Emergency Operations Center will be activated by the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.
For more information contact:
Michelann Ooten, Oklahoma Emergency Management, 405-205-1879
Thomas Larson, Press Secretary for Gov. Brad Henry, 405-301-6357
By Staff Reports
Published: 3/20/2010 8:22 AM
Last Modified: 3/20/2010 11:17 AM
The National Weather Service is predicting that the Tulsa area will be hit with 5 to 10 inches of snow over the weekend.
Meteoroligist David Jankowski said Saturday morning's mix of sleet and rain will turn to snow by early afternoon.
"We're kind of in the transition stage," Jankowski said.
Tulsa should see 2 to 4 inches of snow Saturday and another 2 to 3 inches overnight, Jankowski said.
Another 1 to 3 inches is possible on Sunday before the precipitation stops Sunday afternoon.
"Monday, this should be pushing out of the area and we can see mostly sunny skies with temperatures rebounding into the mid-50's," Jankowski said.
The temperature at Tulsa International Airport at 8 a.m. was 31 degrees with Ponca City and Stillwater already showing snow.
"So the snow is not too far," Jankowski said.
Meanwhile, Tulsa Police say they have responded to at least four weather-related crashes Saturday morning.
"Those are either injury or possible injury" accidents," said Capt. Randy Hughes. "What I'm hearing is that the overpasses are slushy and slick."
Darren Stefanek, the manager of street maintenance in the Public Works Department, said the city has eight trucks on the streets with crews concentrating on bridges.
"I plan on having all 54 trucks in by four o'clock," Stefanek said. "However, if conditions deteriorate I'll have them in earlier."
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is reporting one-quarter to one-half inch of snow in western Oklahoma and mist and sleet in the central part of the state.
ODOT crews are treating bridges, which are the first road surfaces to freeze, first.
As of 10:15 a.m. the Tulsa International Airport Web site was showing two flights delayed and one canceled. That's out of 25 flights scheduled to depart the airport between 10 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
In advance of the winter storm, state officials declared a state of emergency late Friday for all 77 of Oklahoma's counties.
The declaration provides a formal mechanism for local governments to seek reimbursement for recovery costs through the state's disaster public assistance program should conditions warrant. The executive order is also the first step toward seeking federal aid should it be necessary.
The storm could make driving hazardous and hinder fans trying to get to men's and women's NCAA tournament games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Oklahoma City and Norman, officials said.
"We certainly hate that it may affect attendance," said Laura Kriegel, director of marketing and communications for the Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We hope it passes by and we have some great basketball."
Kriegel said hotels in downtown Oklahoma City are sold out for the men's tournament, but she encouraged ticketholders who plan to drive to the Ford Center arena for the college basketball games to take road conditions into account.
"We want people to use their best judgment. Be mindful of the weather," she said.
The storm was expected to be the third major winter storm to hit the state in the past three months, starting with a Christmas Eve blizzard that dropped more than 14 inches of snow in some areas and stranded holiday travelers on snow-packed highways.
Forecasters said 8 to 10 inches of snow was likely Saturday from north central Oklahoma to southeast of the Oklahoma City area and that a blizzard warning could be issued as the storm intensifies.
"You just can't trust Mother Nature in Oklahoma," said Sukie Allison, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
Allison said more than 100 state road crews readied snow plows and other snow-removal equipment in advance of the storm and that the state had enough sand and salt to keep snow-covered roadways open.
Rick Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman, said early spring snowstorms are not unprecedented in Oklahoma. A storm in late March 2009 dropped record snowfall in parts of the state and was the second-most-severe winter storm of the year, behind the Christmas Eve blizzard.
Still snowing in Tulsa, Oklahoma this morning. There was a break in the snow during the late night and early morning as the front side of the storm passed through Tulsa — and then it started snowing again, as the back side of the storm looped over the top and down on Tulsa.
So, we got it when it was coming through, initially, and then again, right now, as it’s passing out of the state... on the backside.
Although it’s a typical March snowstorm around here, and it’s a lot of snow, it’s not really a big deal, because the ground was way too warm (especially the streets).
We knew this snowstorm was coming at least three days before it got here, as it was announced on the news. On Friday afternoon, I was riding the bicycle around in weather of 71 degrees in Tulsa. And then, on Saturday morning (less than 20 hours later), it was already snowing and below freezing... :-)
AND..., being that it’s Spring now... it’s going to warm back up to the 70s once again, in a couple of days... no big deal... LOL ...
Oh, and by the way, last year, we also had a “last-of-winter-blast” — a March snowstorm in Tulsa, that dumped about 8 inches on the ground. It was in the last few days of March.
My cousin had been telling me for over a month now, to expect the March snowstorm that usually comes ... :-)
We are in Collin Co. We just measured. Got 7 inches. Ugh!
This is just more proof that Climate Change—aka Global Warming—is an immediate and serious threat to life on earth as we have known it.
This has no relation to Global Warming or Global Cooling as this has been going on in the Tulsa area (in Oklahoma) for decades now. My cousin was telling me to expect this "last-of-winter-blast" for March, over a month ago.
Last year, in Tulsa, we had 8 inches of snow for winter, as it left, on the very last few days of March... LOL ...
"Glogal Warming" and "Global Cooling" is a normal and natural thing and has been going on for centuries and millennia and no big deal.
The thing that is false science is "Anthropogenic Global Warming" -- as "Gobal Warming" is a normal and natural phenomenon... :-)
Do most of us care? I would use links.
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