Winter Storm Warning In Effect For Large Portion Of Oklahoma

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for all of the I-44 corridor, as well as a large portion of southwestern, southern and all of eastern Oklahoma. This includes the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas.

Timeline: 1st wave (lighter) arriving Thursday afternoon and evening. The second wave (heavier) arrives Thursday night into Friday afternoon – this is the wave that could produce heavy amounts of ice, sleet and snow.

This event is starting to look locked in for parts of eastern & southeastern OK. The most likely area for significant amounts of freezing rain (Ice Storm) and sleet will be southeastern OK into northwestern AR from Durant, McAlester, Sallisaw, OK to Fayetteville, AR. Here, downed power lines and power outages, broken tree limbs, ice-covered roadways and school/business/event cancellations are looking more and more likely.

While sleet and snow impacts aren't locked in yet for the I-44 corridor from Lawton, OKC to Tulsa, the trend for heavier amounts of sleet and snow are increasing. The heaviest band of snow looks like it will stretch near/along I-44 into eastern Oklahoma. Within this band 2" to 6" of snow with heavier amounts will be possible. Some sleet will mix in early during the event before transitioning to all snow.

One MAJOR caveat: this band will be about a county or two wide stretching near/along I-44 into eastern portions of OK. This means a north/south shift of 10 miles will result in significant changes in snowfall accumulation - as much as 6" more or less. The exact location of where that band develops is not locked in yet, though we are starting to get a better idea. These types of precipitation and amounts will likely have a big impact on travel conditions, as well as school/businesses/events being canceled on Friday.