Spring Snow Storm Moves Out of Oklahoma

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- More than 10 inches of snow was on the ground and more was falling by the hour, but Melvin Chaloupek had seen worse.

"This is no big deal you know," said Chaloupek, who runs the Hillcrest Motel in Beaver, where a blizzard raged on Friday. "I remember when I was a kid in 1957 and we had a real bad blizzard. We had drifts that you could literally walk out of our house and onto our roof."

The spring storm, which forecasters said could bring "unprecedented levels" of snow for late March, brought blizzard warnings to the northwest and tornado warnings to the southeast.

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Forecasters expected temperatures to climb above freezing during the day on Saturday and for the system to shift eastward out of the state and region by Saturday evening.

The system was a factor in a fatal accident in central Oklahoma about 30 other traffic collisions in northwestern Oklahoma, including one that left a truck driver critically injured.

Eufaula resident Brandon Chiles, 20, died of head and internal injuries on Friday when his pickup truck failed to negotiate a curve on Oklahoma 9 in the rain, traveled left of the center line and collided head on with another vehicle.

The driver of the other vehicle, Tiffany Pine, 26, was taken to a Shawnee hospital in fair condition with and leg injuries, the patrol said.

A truck driver was hospitalized in critical condition after his rig went out of control on rain-slickened U.S. 412 about 5 miles east of Enid in north-central Oklahoma, OHP spokesman Chris West said. The vehicle overturned and the driver was pinned for an hour before he could be freed.

Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency for much of Oklahoma, allowing state agencies to make emergency purchases to deal with the storm and starting the process of seeking federal assistance should it be necessary.

"Ice and snow resulting from this winter storm poses serious challenges to everything from roads to power lines, and so it is critical that we be prepared for the worst," Henry said.

The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives reported about 500 Northwestern Electric customers without power in Beaver and Harper counties around 10 p.m. Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported 1,349 customers without power in Harrah, Kremlin, Medford and Nardin.

Transportation officials shut down Interstate 40 in the Texas Panhandle to the Oklahoma state line due to heavy snow. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation also announced the closure of portions of State Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 56 in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and State Highway 171 from Keyes south to the Texas state line.

Officials also closed Oklahoma Highway 15 from Woodward to Shattuck and U.S. Highway 270 from Woodward to Seiling early Saturday.

ODOT said travel conditions west of Woodward were "treacherous."

"It's classic Oklahoma winter weather -- thundersnow, sleet, winds between 50 and 60 mph, the classic conditions are setting in," said Sid Sperry, a spokesman with the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Even though his motel is located along a couple of highways, no stranded travelers had wandered in for shelter, Chaloupek said.

"Most people got the word that the weather was coming in and they left and went home," he said. "That's the way the motel business goes sometimes."

Chaloupek said his cattle are having to fend for themselves until he can get back to his farm.

"All you can do is put out plenty of feed out before the storm hits and hope for the best," he said.

Despite the inconvenience, Chaloupek said the snow is welcome in the Panhandle, which has been struggling to emerge from a yearslong drought.

"We've been so dry, we welcome any kind of moisture."