Posted on 01/28/2010 3:27:41 PM PST by Star Traveler
And... if they don’t have a briefing right at the moment (which they don’t right now)...
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/tsa/briefing/player.html
that means they’re in the process of making another one and it will be out shortly. They keep updating this all the time, according to changing conditions...
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 432 PM CST THU JAN 28 2010 ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-OKZ054>074-291030- /O.EXT.KTSA.WS.W.0001.000000T0000Z-100130T0300Z/ BENTON-CARROLL-WASHINGTON AR-MADISON-CRAWFORD-FRANKLIN-OSAGE- WASHINGTON OK-NOWATA-CRAIG-OTTAWA-PAWNEE-TULSA-ROGERS-MAYES-DELAWARE- CREEK-OKFUSKEE-OKMULGEE-WAGONER-CHEROKEE-ADAIR-MUSKOGEE-MCINTOSH- SEQUOYAH-PITTSBURG-HASKELL- 432 PM CST THU JAN 28 2010 ...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CST FRIDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ADJUSTED THE TIMING OF THE WINTER STORM WARNING AND IT IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CST FRIDAY... FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... * IN OKLAHOMA...CHEROKEE...ADAIR...CREEK...OKFUSKEE...OKMULGEE... WAGONER...TULSA...ROGERS...MAYES...DELAWARE...PAWNEE...OTTAWA... WASHINGTON...OSAGE...CRAIG...NOWATA...PITTSBURG...SEQUOYAH... MCINTOSH...MUSKOGEE AND HASKELL. IN ARKANSAS...WASHINGTON... MADISON...CRAWFORD...BENTON...CARROLL AND FRANKLIN. HAZARDOUS WEATHER... * FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL CONTINUE TO OVERSPREAD EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS EVENING. A TRANSITION TO SNOW IS EXPECTED BY EARLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...WITH ACCUMULATING SNOWS EXPECTED. * ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO ONE HALF INCH WILL OCCUR...WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ICING EXPECTED NEAR THE INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA. SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 3 INCHES SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 TO 6 TO 7 INCHES NEAR THE KANSAS AND MISSOURI BORDERS. IMPACTS... * TRAVEL WILL BECOME VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO UTILITY LINES ARE LIKELY...AND POWER OUTAGES SHOULD BE EXPECTED ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE ZONE OF HEAVIER ICE ACCUMULATIONS. POWER OUTAGES FROM ONE TO FIVE DAYS WILL BE POSSIBLE...AND RURAL AREAS MAY LOSE POWER FOR OVER A WEEK. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... * DELAY TRAVEL AND STAY HOME IF POSSIBLE UNTIL CONDITIONS IMPROVE. * STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS WEATHER EVENT. ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT: WEATHER.GOV/TULSA. && $$
Latest report from this link... 4-6 inches of snow for the Tulsa area on the backside of the storm (later), with more moisture coming up from Texas in the form of freezing rain (right now)...
They will have another full briefing with all the graphics and analysis by around 9:30 to 10:00 PM...
Situation is changing and they keep updating it...
What they’ve got right now is what they call a “quick update” with the full information coming at the time mentioned in the first paragraph.
My own direct observation, as it stands right now in Tulsa, is the continued ice accumulation and no let-off in the freezing rain. So, it could get up to that 1/2 inch of ice that they’ve got on their map, followed by that six inches of snow, later on.
Reported by: Marla Carter
Email: mcarter@kjrh.com
Last Update: 6:55 pm
The City of Tulsa has 58 trucks out. They've been laying down salt to help melt any ice from freezing rain.
Crews are working around the clock. They're hitting all the main roadways, but when conditions worsen, it can be difficult to keep up.
"The routes are 40 miles long. The truck is only going to be in one place at a time while the material is falling everywhere. Once a plow-truck salts a street, there's still material falling behind them, " said Darren Stefanek.
Meanwhile, crews from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation arrived to work at 3 a.m. Thursday prepared to tackle the storm.
They have 21 crews out in Tulsa Country treating highways. They're using a salt-sand mix to treat the roads.
O-DOT spokesperson, Kenna Mitchell, is asking drivers to stay off the roads because it's not just better for the drivers but also for O-DOT crews.
"You not being on the road, this is actually helping us get the ice cleared in a faster manner, getting the snow plowed. It gives us a little more room to get the job done as quickly as possible, " said Kenna Mitchell.
Despite having two big winter events in a month, both the City of Tulsa and O-DOT say they have plenty of material to battle this and future snow storms.
It is now 9:37 PM and I just hung up from talking with my daughter in B’ville. She doesn’t sound too concerned—she checked—the outside temp at her house is 27 degrees. There is no snow falling, but they have maybe an inch on the ground from earlier today. She didn’t mention any wind, so if it’s blowing, it must not be too bad.
Thanks for the information. I just talked with pesto (my daughter). Everything is calm at her house—no snow falling, no wind, and it’s 27 degrees.
I know about B’ville weather first hand, as we lived there back when pesto graduated from high school. We were there for one of the worst floods I have ever seen, and I lived many years on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
I guess everybody has weather—LOL!
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: January 28, 2010
Ice on roadways in southern, central and western parts of the state is causing travel problems, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
Authorities are discouraging travel on state highways and interstates.
State Department of Transportation crews report numerous closings on rural highways due to downed trees and power lines. Affected areas are in a band from Harmon County in the far southwest part of the state and continuing northeast through the central part of the state to Lincoln County, a department news release said.
Areas near Altus, Lawton, Duncan, Chickasha, Pauls Valley, Purcell and Stroud are most affected. Also, Texas officials report poor conditions near Stratford, Texas, and have requested highways leading from Guymon and Boise City in the Oklahoma Panhandle be closed.
The state Transportation Department said most of Interstate 40 west of Oklahoma City to the state line is slick and hazardous.
Interstate 35 southbound near Billings is now open. A seven-car accident shut down the road for more than an hour.
Here are some of the highways that have been closed:
City crews busy
Oklahoma City crews were salting roads with 24 trucks all day, city officials said. The biggest concern is trucks breaking down, which hampered clean-up efforts in last month's blizzard.
"As long as nobody breaks down we'll have 24 trucks out 24 hours," city spokeswoman Kristy Yager said.
Although the roads started to worsen in the afternoon, the city seemed to dodge the worst of the weather early in the day, Yager said. Ground temperatures helped melt freezing rain as it hit the streets.
"Everybody feels like, so far, we've gotten pretty lucky," Yager said.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 12:12 p.m.
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Law enforcement agencies in New Mexico have shut down I-40 eastbound from Tucumcari, and US 54 from Tucumcari to the Texas state line. Ice and snow-covered roadways are making for hazardous driving conditions in New Mexico, and blowing snow has reduced visibility to near zero at times.
Freezing rain that has turned to blowing snow is also making travel nearly impossible for the entire Texas panhandle, especially on I-40 east and west of Amarillo. The Texas Department of Public Safety reports numerous crashes and vehicles in ditches along the interstate. Winds of 25 to 35 mph are causing white-out conditions, cutting visibility to near zero in open areas in the panhandle. Motorists who become stranded may have to wait several hours before emergency crews can reach them. The State Patrol and TxDOT in the Amarillo area recommend motorists stay home unless it is an emergency situation.
'Near-blizzard' storm whites out Panhandle
Web-posted Friday, January 29, 2010
By Joe Gamm
joe.gamm@amarillo.com
The Panhandle was blanketed in ice and snow Thursday as a hazardous storm system passed through the region and caused whiteout conditions, the closure of Interstate 40 and other major routes, and led to the cancellation of commercial flights.
The storm began in many parts of the region with sleet that resulted in a quarter-inch of ice. Snow then followed that amounted to 7 inches in Dalhart and Vega by noon Thursday. Canyon received 8 inches by 4:50 p.m., and Amarillo saw 6.4 inches by 6 p.m.
The National Weather Service in Amarillo expected another 1 to 2 inches to fall in the Panhandle before tailing off early this morning. The service said the region sustained "near-blizzard" conditions, but gusty winds didn't last long enough for the storm to be categorized a blizzard.
High winds, however, continued to blow through much of the night, causing snowdrifts that hampered motorists.
"Temperatures will not get out of the teens (Thursday night), so driving conditions will not improve," said meteorologist Steve Bilodeau with the weather service. "Amarillo will probably have about 6 inches total. The heaviest snow's been near Dalhart."
He said temperatures will climb to near 40 Saturday and steadily warm until Monday, when daytime temperatures will be near 50 and help to melt snow on roadways.
Just before noon Thursday nearly all of Interstate 40 through the Panhandle was closed, and other major routes through the region were inaccessible. Travelers unable to continue their journeys began booking hotel rooms.
The Texas Department of Public Safety reported that I-40 was closed from New Mexico eastward to Oklahoma. The lone exception was within the Amarillo city limits.
Other closures included U.S. Highway 287 two miles north of Amarillo to Oklahoma and U.S. 54 from Dalhart to the New Mexico state line, authorities said. Northbound U.S. 87 out of Canyon was reduced to one lane.
Trooper Gabriel Medrano said roads would likely remain closed until this morning because of icy roads, numerous accidents and whiteout conditions.
The storm that had passed through eastern parts of New Mexico snow packed Interstate 25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and I-40 in New Mexico before moving east into the Texas Panhandle.
Drivers at Ricky's Towing in Amarillo had answered about 100 calls by 3:15 Thursday afternoon, primarily on I-40 west of the city where tractor-trailers became stuck in ditches and motorists had run out of gas.
"We are about five hours behind. We are that busy," office manager Katrina Kincaid said.
Ricky's Towing has five semi-wreckers, which can haul tractor-trailers, and each of them became stuck themselves at different points during the day, she said.
"If your vehicle is not involved in an accident, and it's off the road, leave it in a safe spot if you can," Kincaid said. "Get somewhere you can be out of the weather."
Those traveling by air perhaps had worse luck Thursday than those driving.
All commercial flights were canceled at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, Aviation Director Scott Carr said. Accumulated snow and winds are believed to have toppled the canopy atop a security checkpoint near the entrance to the airport.
State and local emergency personnel responded to dozens of traffic accidents in the region. But in Amarillo, police reported that traffic was light and officers had responded to 14 accidents by 5 p.m., police Cpl. Jerry Neufeld said.
By contrast, Lubbock police responded to 22 accidents during the same time. The southern part of Interstate 27 at Lubbock was temporarily closed because of flooding.
Meanwhile, roughly 7,500 customers in the Panhandle and South Plains were without power in the morning, Xcel Energy said. The company reported 2,000 to 2,500 customers still without power into the evening, with strong winds hampering utility crews.
"Most of the problems tend to be along a line running from New Mexico through Plainview and east toward Briscoe County," Xcel spokesman Wes Reeves said. "We have reports of scattered outages across the entire region, north and south of this line."
Xcel crews worked to correct the outages, but Reeves said workers encountered ice on the lines and switches, slowing their efforts.
Dozens of school districts canceled classes. Texline Independent School District announced it will remain closed today, as will Amarillo ISD, Canyon ISD, Claude ISD, Highland Park ISD, River Road ISD and Sanford-Fritch ISD, among others.
Amarillo City Transit ended its bus service in the afternoon, and there were a rash of closings through the day, from businesses and banks to courts and libraries throughout the region.
In Oklahoma: Sleet and freezing rain disrupted power to thousands of homes and businesses, canceled flights at the state's largest airports and shut down major highways. About 30,000 western Oklahoma customers were without power.
In New Mexico: Eastbound Interstate 40 from Tucumcari to the Texas border and forcing shutdowns for schools, Cannon Air Force Base and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Up to 26 inches was forecast in the Ruidoso area above 7,500 feet.
Sporting events
Amarillo-area sporting events scheduled for Thursday were all canceled because of the ice and heavy snow conditions from Thursday's storm.
The Randall wrestling team canceled its trip to Garden City, Kan., for a weekend of matches. Also canceled was the wrestling triangular at Palo Duro involving PD, Tascosa and Bushland, along with the Hereford at Amarillo High girls and boys wrestling matches.
RV show
Opening day for Outdoor World Boat, RV and Sportsman's Show had been postponed until 10 a.m. Saturday.
Some snowfall amounts...
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