Winter Weather — Carter, Oklahoma

2011-01-20 · Carter, Oklahoma

Event narrative

A light coating of ice from freezing drizzle resulted in several accidents across Carter county. Unfortunately, one of the accidents resulted in a fatality. The accident occurred at approximately 7:40 am on US Highway 77, 1.5 miles south of Ardmore.

Wider weather episode

A strong, but fast-moving disturbance moved toward the southern Plains late on the 19th. At the same time, an arctic cold front moved south, with very cold temperatures behind the boundary moved south through Oklahoma. Cloud cover thickened during the afternoon and evening hours of the 19th, keeping temperatures near freezing over northern Oklahoma for much of the day. Not much in the way of precipitation had developed until mid evening, when radar echoes began blossoming across northern Oklahoma. Snow, sleet, and freezing drizzle began affecting areas from Woodward, to Enid, and to Stillwater by around 10 pm, but transitioned to all snow shortly after. Under the more persistent snow bands totals reached as high as 4 inches. Further south, the arctic front quickly moved toward the Red River. Light, but widespread precipitation developed over central and southwest Oklahoma. For the first several hours, much of the precipitation fell as freezing drizzle, which occasionally mixed with light snow. A thin coating of ice accumulated on area roadways, which significantly disrupted the morning commute. Hundreds of accidents occurred state-wide, three of which involved fatalities. The precipitation began to transition to all snow over all areas beginning around sunrise, and quickly came to an end from west to east. The main affects of the storm system had moved east by late morning, with much of the region seeing the sun by mid to late afternoon. Even with the sun, however, the temperatures generally remained in the 20s and lower 30s.

Another significant occurrence with this event was the very cold wind chills. North winds of 15 to 20 mph, with gusts of 30 to 35 mph were common for a good part of the day. With temperatures in the upper teens and 20s, minimum wind chills ranged from 5 to -5 degrees near and north of Interstate 40, to 5 to 15 degrees across the south. The wind also created areas of blowing/drifting snow over northern Oklahoma, which briefly reduced visibilities below one mile at times. The combination of snow/ice, temperatures, and gusty north winds made for an all-around nasty day over Oklahoma and western North Texas. For more information on the Wind Chill Index, you can click here.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 269598. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.