Icy Roads in Oklahoma

What happens when you get a moist storm out of the west and a surge of arctic air from the north? Just take a look at the past 48 hours in the south! What a mess! We’ve seen just about everything with this storm system–severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, heavy snow, thundersnow, gusty winds, freezing rain, sleet… Yikes. There have been reports of an ice pack of over 3″ on the roads thanks to the snow, sleet and freezing rain the state received. Major interstates were shut down. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management reported that heavy ice brought down electrical lines and trees limbs, leaving more than 179,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma without power Friday. Despite the storm’s exit in the South Central region of the U.S., Oklahoma is still reporting over 150,000 people without power. While temperatures are expected to warm up in the next few days, the reflective nature of ice and fresh snow inhibits the absorption of the sun’s radiation… which slows down the melting process. This means ice will be a problem for a while longer. Since 2000, the state has experienced seven major ice storms with ice totals of more than an inch.

A photo my friend posted on Facebook in Norman, OK.

The ice was not only a problem in Oklahoma, but in Arkansas, Tennessee and the mid Atlantic. A state of emergency was declared pretty much in all the states this storm tracked through.

Ice Reports 1/29/2010

Beyond just ice, we’ve also seen a tremendous amount of snow! The storm left 13 inches of snow in the northern Texas Panhandle, where nearly all of Interstate 40 from the Texas-Oklahoma line to New Mexico was closed for part of the day.

LOCATION                      SNOWFALL    COMMENTS
                               IN/S/

GRUVER, TX                     14.0        900 AM   1/29
DUMAS, TX                      13.5       1208 AM   1/29
GUYMON, OK                     13.0        200 PM   1/29
DALHART, TX                    12.0        714 PM   1/28
AMARILLO, TX                   10.0        700 AM   1/2

Heavy snow tracked eastward the mid Atlantic states have been hit the hardest today. Over 10″ of snow has been reported in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area in Virginia and the snow will continue into the evening. I’m betting the final snow totals will exceed 15″ in snow areas. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of western North Carolina. Nearly 10 inches had fallen in some areas north of Memphis, TN and about a half-foot of snow was on the ground in Nashville, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy snow slams the mid Atlantic this afternoon.

Looks like we’re in the last chapter of this storm as it’s continuing to move eastward. By tomorrow, most of the snow will have ceased in the mid Atlantic and an area of high pressure will result in much drier weather for the area… a much needed break from this mess!

Susie Martin
WeatherNation Meteorologist