State of emergency in Oklahoma after snowstorm


25/12/09 WASHINGTON: Mother Nature’s rage has hit Oklahoma hard as a winter storm erupted today causing four deaths and keeping thousands stranded.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning through 6 p.m., Roads are expected to be slick and hazardous, heavy wind is expected, authorities have requested people to avoid driving unless and until absolutely necessary.

A 50-car pileup is clogging Interstate 40 eastbound near Hudiburg Drive in Midwest City, there have been so many accidents that troopers are not no longer responding to non-injury accidents in the Oklahoma City-area, instead focusing on fatal crashes.

Oklahoma City-area airports were closed this afternoon, 16,000 households were without power about 2 p.m. Christmas day is expected to be partly sunny said the weather forecast.

Interstate 44 had a crash were a person died and State Highway 51 near Sand Springs had fatal crash that resulted in three deaths.

A major winter storm is sweeping across the central United States rapidly on Christmas Eve Thursday, prompting the governor of Oklahoma to declare a statewide emergency.

"I am urging all Oklahomans to take winter storm precautions and stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary," Brad Henry, the governor, said in a statement.

Blizzard warnings were issued for parts of Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

"Anyone with travel plans over the Christmas holiday period should keep up to date with the latest weather information," it said in an online statement. Tornado watches were issued for southern Louisiana, Mississippi and southwestern Alabama.

A Louisiana man was killed Thursday when strong wind caused a tree to fall on his house. Flooding was reported in and around Little Rock, Arkansas, after heavy rain fell throughout Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Flood watches, warnings and advisories have been issued for much of Missouri and Illinois, where several inches of rain is causing flooding in streams and rivers. The inclement weather is the second major storm system to hit the United States in a week. Last weekend, a major snowstorm blanketed a swath of the U.S. east coast in snow, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.



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MINNEAPOLIS — A blustery storm spread snow and ice across the U.S. heartland Thursday as Americans rushed to get home for the holidays, grounding flights, stranding drivers on highways and forcing churches to cancel Christmas Eve services.

Up to two feet of snow was possible in some areas by Christmas Day.

Blizzard warnings were issued for Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin, and drivers were encouraged to pack emergency kits before setting out during what is normally one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

The storm was also expected to glaze highways in the East with ice on Christmas.

Slippery roads were blamed for at least 18 deaths this week as the slow-moving storm made its way across the country from the Southwest.

The snowstorm also put the brakes on some last-minute Christmas shopping. At the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, some shoppers had entire stores to themselves.

High winds blowing snow across icy roads were a concern elsewhere. Interstate highways were closed in Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated military personnel to help drivers. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven placed additional state troopers and the National Guard on standby.


Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry declared a statewide state of emergency due to what he described as a "record-breaking storm." The state set up shelters in central Oklahoma for motorists stranded overnight and closed all interstate routes and several turnpikes.

The storm closed Oklahoma's biggest airport. Mark Kraneneberg, a spokesman for Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, said there were about 100 stranded passengers and some airport employees were stuck as well.

The storm knocked out power for more than 10,000 residents in Oklahoma Thursday evening.

Nearly 100 flights from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport were canceled by midday. By late afternoon, though, a spokesman said most flights were getting out. The Oklahoma City airport shut down one of its three runways and canceled nearly 30 flights. Two-hour-plus delays were reported at Houston's Hobby Airport, though by Thursday evening that was down to 15 minutes or less. Chicago's O'Hare had hour-long delays and more than 30 cancellations, and Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport canceled most flights Thursday. The weather closed down Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota altogether late Thursday.