12/22/09-12/25/09 Midwest Winter Storm

[Dan Melby]

Our family has decided to postpone our Christmas, since my hometown of Dunlap, IA is currently in the bullseye to get some of the highest totals. I talked to my mom on the phone today and they were already without power for at least 4 hours last night and she said that she could hears trees snapping behind our house already. I cant imagine how it is going to be once the wind start really blowing later tonight and tomorrow.

 

[Jason Young]

Well we are at 33 , with sleet falling now . The wind is insane ! There is talk of 9 " of snow , so I will be in the National Park later to get some winter pic's if this holds.
Stay warm guy's !

 

[Michael Boyd]

Heavy snow now on the western sides of the OKC Metro near Wiley Post Airport - winds at least 45 mph with huge flakes now starting to mix in.

 

[Angie Norris]

Seeing heavier sleet on the south side of Norman now, latest wind gust to 56mph with sustained wind now 40mph. The wind is almost making the sleet sound like small hail. The only snow I have seen so far has been very light.

 

[Andrew Francis]

Heavy snow now on the western sides of the OKC Metro near Wiley Post Airport - winds at least 45 mph with huge flakes now starting to mix in.

Yea the show is here now.

Heavy flakes in Edmond now. White-out conditions easily. The wind just picks up the sleet off the house roofs and just makes it a total mess out there. I would imagine if this snowfall rate keeps up for most of the day as the system looks to be slowing down or even starting that fateful jog to the north with us in the heavy precip wrap-around shield I could see some major roads closing here in the OKC metro.

I would say visibility is down to around a 1/3 of a mile in N OKC.

 

[Jeff Piotrowski]

Snow OK

Snow rate is now 1-3" per hour approching the WSW side of OKC.

 

[Eric Sipes]

Winter wonderland my a$$, this sucks!!! Here in Cordell, things have slowed down a bit and visibility has come back to about 1/2 mile even with the 55mph gusts. That's up from about .10 mile. Combined with very slick roads, this is not a day I'd want to get out and photograph the storm. So far it appears we have 3-4" of accumulation but, with the wind it's really hard to tell. The cell phone picture below was taken at roughly 11:15. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

-Eric

 

[Andrew Francis]

60+ MPH gusts in western OK still in the precip shield.




Anyone have the record books for the last time OK saw these harsh of 'blizzard' conditions?



I would say @ this rate the snow is coming down easily over 1" an hour. Very heavy banding forming to the SW of OKC and hardly moving at all. This could be crippling here by evening.

 

[Jim Saueressig]

Sleet started falling here a bit ago, paved areas went white in a hurry. Temp 25, dropped 3f since it started a bit ago.

 

[Scott Vanzandt]

just had some sleet fall here in south tulsa but has since changed back to rain.

 

[Andrew Francis]

KFOR local station in OKC just said forget the 3-5 inch totals. OKC is getting over a foot of snow.I-35 right outside my neighborhood is crawling. I would bet money on the interstates closing later this evening here in Central OK. Just had to explain to my sister not to come home from Norman tonight for christmas because you will NOT make it.

I can hardly see the house across the street probably barely 100 yards away.

I would say we have gotten close to 3" of snow in the last hour and a half on top of the compacted sleet from earlier. THe wind is a constant 30mph with 40+ gusts...

It is truly dangerous.

 

[Kevin Rolfs]

Here in Bartlesville (N of Tulsa), we're sittin at 30 degrees with moderate sleet, hopefully a change over to snow SOON

 

[Brian Stertz]

Let it snow....

Pretty amazing storm in it's early crank up mode Mike...once that cold air moves in we'll be getting some serious snow after dark. Won't be here to enjoy it, but surely will be THE record setter for a White Christmas in KC. Merry Christmas chasers one and all !!

 

[D. Hayes]

Off and on sleet/snow flurries in Wichita. Wish that storm would push north and save you folks down in OK some headaches.

 

[Jeff Piotrowski]

Tulsa

In Owasso now have sleet and snow.