An Ice Storm Warning remains in effect for portions of SE Oklahoma until 6am Wednesday. The rest of us are under a Winter Storm Warning until 6pm Tuesday. The freezing drizzle and freezing rain started to fall about noon and by 2pm were were getting reports of accidents.
At one point I heard a report of accidents "too numerous to count". Sadly this thing isn't over
yet. Low level moisture continues to stream in from the south tonight and more freezing rain and sleet will fall overnight. The cold surface air is more dense so as this warm / moist air gets lifted the precip falls as a liquid only to freeze on contact as it reaches the
ground.
If we were cooler aloft, we would be talking about snow around here and travel not
nearly as rough. Instead, folks remembering our Dec. 2007 event, are concerned we will
have more power outages and cities shut down for days on end.
Tonight all of the models push the system east by late afternoon. We will remain below freezing Tuesday, so even after the freezing rain/sleet/snow ends, it will still be on the roads and sidewalks.
Karen Larsen shared with me an e-mail she received from Tina Wells with EMSA. This part suprised me:
"EMSA paramedics have responded to 43 falls today; 30 of the patients needed hospital care. Patients reported falling on streets, sidewalks, driveways and other surfaces. Injuries included broken bones and possible concussions."
If you plan to be out Tuesday, please be careful. Some of the kids who are out of school
Tuesday, may be tempted to go outside to play on the ice. Please remember, that unlike
snow, ice doesn't provide any cushion. If you slip on this stuff, there will be some
broken bones.
I'm forecasting warmer weather by Wednesday, and most of the ice will melt. Until
then, please be careful. This is a big mess.