News - Blogs - Is there really a blizzard warning in Oklahoma right now

Is there really a blizzard warning in Oklahoma right now?
Published: 12/19/2011 10:59 AM
Last Modified: 12/19/2011 11:00 AM

This is a map provided by the National Weather Service, but I added a stronger outline to show where our Oklahoma border is. Areas in bright red are under a blizzard warning; areas in pink are under a winter storm warning; and areas in purple are under a winter weather advisory.

Yes, right here in Oklahoma, and it lasts through noon Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued this blizzard warning ("warning" is definitely the key word!) for the Oklahoma Panhandle, as well as the northern and west Texas Panhandle. To be more specific, the cities of Boise City, Keyes, Guymon, Perryton, Booker, Higgins, Follett, Hartley, Channing, Dumas, Borger, Vega, Amarillo, Hereford and Canyon.

For those of you in the two Panhandles, prepare for a storm that would make Tulsa's February blush: 6 to 16 inches likely (those are the NWS' words, not mine: "likely!"), with the highest snowfall expected in the Oklahoma Panhandle and northwest Texas Pandhandle.

What makes winter weather worse? Wind. 25 to 35 wind gusts are also anticipated.

What makes winter weather even worse? Rain, which is expected this morning ahead of the snow. Thus, icy and snow packed streets along with strong winds are expected to create zero-visibility and whiteout conditions.

The Tulsa area probably wants to know if there's any chance this snow will head east toward us. Since the winter weather advisories are currently in Kansas counties northeast of this area, I would have to say that we can safely say that the storm is headed that direction. However, if you haven't looked out the window yet this morning, it is indeed raining.

Freezing rain? Fortunately not. Tulsa's forecast temps today range from the low 40s to mid 50s. However, Tuesday night's lows are in the 20s, so if there's any lingering rain tomorrow, you might have some ice by then.

--Althea Peterson

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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