Freezing Rain, Snow Across State; Slick Roads Cause Major Delays, Accidents

Staff and Wire Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A winter storm is moving across Oklahoma dropping frozen precipitation that has left roads slick and is blamed for at least one deadly crash.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West said Thursday that one person was killed about 3:15 a.m. in a single vehicle accident near Cheyenne in western Oklahoma in Roger Mills County on SH 283, 1 1/2 miles north of Grimes Road.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported about 3,600 outages in Oklahoma City, Holdenville and Bristow. Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported 845 outages in Pittsburg, Jackson and Hughes counties.

Schools were closed in both the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported slick and hazardous roadways in most of the state.

View a list of school and church closings

Police in Checotah in eastern Oklahoma report westbound Interstate 40 is closed.

The precipitation was changing to snow with 1 to 3 inches accumulation expected in most areas.

At about 7:11 a.m. interstate 40 at MM 191 in Shawnee was closed due to an overturned semi.

Interstate 35 in Purcell was shut down due to icy conditions at about 6 a.m., according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

I-40 eastbound at MM 239 was shut down due to numerous semi accidents. The roadway was reopened just before 1 p.m.

At 6:18 a.m. Checotah police reported that I-40 westbound at MM 265 is blocked due to several semis off the roadway there. Traffic was moving again by 7:07 a.m.

At about 6:30 a.m. the northbound lanes of Lake Hefner Parkway at Britton Road in Oklahoma City were blocked due to a 5-car accident.

Oklahoma City police said they are not going to be responding to non-injury accidents.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said salt and sand operations are underway especially where highways and bridges are slick and hazardous.

ODOT said there are more than 40 trucks with 13,000 tons of sand and salt hitting the streets.

A layer of ice is underneath the snow in many areas, and visibility problems are reported due to blowing snow.

Wind chills will be frigid Thursday with temperatures staying in the 20s and the strong north winds. The storm system should be gone by midday Thursday.

Thursday night lows will get down into the teens, but highs will rebound into the 40s under partly cloudy skies Friday afternoon.

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