A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >
A strong cold front plowed through Oklahoma and north Texas on the February 10, 2012, dropping temperatures across the region into the teens and twenties. The frigid temperatures continued into the February 11th, as most areas did not make it above freezing on that day. Very dry air also followed the front, with surface dew point temperatures in the single digits. The several hours of below freezing temperatures allowed the ground temperatures to fall rapidly as well.
A transient storm system approached from the central Rocky Mountains, as south winds brought slightly warmer temperatures north into parts of Oklahoma. The temperatures warmed above freezing over parts of central and southern Oklahoma, as well as adjacent areas of north Texas, but remained in the 20s elsewhere.
Snowfall began over the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, and quickly spread east into western Oklahoma. Saturation of the drier air occurred quickly near the Texas panhandle border. A band of moderate to heavy snow set up shop over parts of western Oklahoma, with snowfall rates approaching 1"/hour. This band did not move much during the first several hours, resulting in a quick 3 to 4 inches of snow to accumulate. But the area of snowfall was on the move, with any one area receiving light to moderate snowfall for about 3 to 4 hours.
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The isolated areas of higher snowfall totals over west-central Oklahoma were not the norm, as a wide a larger area of 2 to 3 inches of accumulation was more representative. Timing of this event was almost ideal for areas of central Oklahoma. Whereas the snowfall occurred earlier in the day over western Oklahoma, resulting in several more accidents, the snowfall occurred during the mid to late evening hours over central Oklahoma. Automobile traffic was at a minimum during this period, which resulted in few accidents. Numerous accidents occurred on area roadways during the event. The event may have occurred at an ideal time, however. Had this occurred during the work week, this may have had a higher impact. What may have been worse was the freezing fog that occurred a day after the snow ended. As mentioned earlier, south winds were present during the entire snowfall event. The south winds brought relatively warm air over Oklahoma, which melted much of the snow. The skies cleared, the winds calmed, and abundant moisture near the surface resulted in widespread dense fog. What made matters much worse was the fact the the temperatures fell below freezing resulting in freezing fog. The freezing fog deposited a thin layer of ice on the roadways and elevated surfaces. The morning rush hour was treacherous, with many automobile accidents reported. Luckily no serious injuries occurred. To read more about the formation of "radiation fog" you can click on the description provided by the Oklahoma Mesonet. |
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Here is the summary of the snow reports that we received at our office from this event.
NWUS54 KOUN 130911
LSROUN
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
310 AM CST MON FEB 13 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0526 PM SNOW 8 S REYDON 35.53N 99.92W
02/12/2012 E3.0 INCH ROGER MILLS OK PUBLIC
0540 PM SNOW ERICK 35.21N 99.87W
02/12/2012 E1.5 INCH BECKHAM OK CO-OP OBSERVER
0615 PM SNOW ELK CITY 35.40N 99.41W
02/12/2012 E2.0 INCH BECKHAM OK BROADCAST MEDIA
THE REPORT WAS RELAYED VIA TWITTER
0730 PM SNOW HOLLIS 34.69N 99.92W
02/12/2012 E2.0 INCH HARMON OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
0800 PM SNOW HELENA 36.55N 98.27W
02/12/2012 E2.0 INCH ALFALFA OK PUBLIC
0800 PM SNOW ALTUS 34.64N 99.33W
02/12/2012 M2.1 INCH JACKSON OK BROADCAST MEDIA
0815 PM SNOW HOBART 35.03N 99.09W
02/12/2012 M2.0 INCH KIOWA OK PUBLIC
0845 PM SNOW 6 SW CHEYENNE 35.55N 99.75W
02/12/2012 E4.0 INCH ROGER MILLS OK PUBLIC
UPDATED FROM PREVIOUS REPORT.
0915 PM SNOW ENID 36.40N 97.88W
02/12/2012 M1.4 INCH GARFIELD OK EMERGENCY MNGR
AREA ROADWAYS ARE VERY SLICK... WITH SEVERAL ACCIDENTS
REPORTED.
0930 PM SNOW QUANAH 34.30N 99.74W
02/12/2012 M3.0 INCH HARDEMAN TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS 2 INCH REPORT.
0930 PM SNOW BENJAMIN 33.58N 99.79W
02/12/2012 E1.5 INCH KNOX TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
0930 PM SNOW KNOX CITY 33.42N 99.82W
02/12/2012 E3.0 INCH KNOX TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
1000 PM SNOW 4 N WICHITA FALLS 33.97N 98.50W
02/12/2012 E2.0 INCH WICHITA TX PUBLIC
THE SNOWFALL REPORT WAS RELAYED VIA TWITTER.
1020 PM SNOW SEILING 36.15N 98.92W
02/12/2012 E2.5 INCH DEWEY OK TRAINED SPOTTER
1030 PM SNOW CORDELL 35.30N 98.98W
02/12/2012 E4.0 INCH WASHITA OK PUBLIC
THE SNOW REPORT WAS RELAYED VIA TWITTER.
1030 PM SNOW CLINTON 35.51N 98.97W
02/12/2012 E3.0 INCH CUSTER OK DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS 1 INCH REPORT. ODOT IS REPORTING
SNOW COVERING I-40 BETWEEN CLINTON AND FOSS.
1125 PM SNOW WICHITA FALLS 33.91N 98.50W
02/12/2012 E2.5 INCH WICHITA TX BROADCAST MEDIA
UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS 1 INCH REPORT. THE SNOW REPORT WAS
RELAYED BY KAUZ-TV.
1150 PM SNOW WILL ROGERS AIRPORT 35.39N 97.60W
02/12/2012 M0.9 INCH OKLAHOMA OK OFFICIAL NWS OBS
1150 PM SNOW NORMAN 35.22N 97.44W
02/12/2012 M1.1 INCH CLEVELAND OK OFFICIAL NWS OBS
MEASURED AT NATIONAL WEATHER CENTER
1200 AM SNOW N OKARCHE 35.73N 97.98W
02/13/2012 M1.8 INCH KINGFISHER OK TRAINED SPOTTER
1200 AM SNOW PONCA CITY 36.71N 97.09W
02/13/2012 E1.5 INCH KAY OK TRAINED SPOTTER
0100 AM SNOW 2 SE NORMAN 35.20N 97.42W
02/13/2012 M1.7 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
MEASURED NEAR HWY 9/77 INTERCHANGE
0110 AM SNOW NORMAN 35.22N 97.44W
02/13/2012 M1.6 INCH CLEVELAND OK TRAINED SPOTTER
AT 12TH AND LINDSEY
0115 AM SNOW ELGIN 34.78N 98.29W
02/13/2012 M3.5 INCH COMANCHE OK PUBLIC
0130 AM SNOW DUNCAN 34.52N 97.97W
02/13/2012 E3.0 INCH STEPHENS OK AMATEUR RADIO
0130 AM SNOW ELMORE CITY 34.62N 97.40W
02/13/2012 M1.8 INCH GARVIN OK PUBLIC
0140 AM SNOW 2 W ENID 36.40N 97.91W
02/13/2012 E3.0 INCH GARFIELD OK PUBLIC
0200 AM SNOW NORMAN 35.22N 97.44W
02/13/2012 M2.4 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
WEST 48TH AND MAIN ST
&&
$$
BURKE
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