Winter Storm Fern brings record snowfall and lingering cold to Oklahoma
- Winter Storm Fern brought record snowfall to Oklahoma City and left the state in a deep freeze.
- Officials warned of hazardous road conditions and urged drivers to stay home due to ice and refreezing.
- Many schools and businesses closed or moved to virtual operations in the storm's aftermath.
- Shelters for the unhoused population saw a significant increase in people seeking refuge from the extreme cold.
After more than 36 hours of layering on ice and snow, Winter Storm Fern finally moved on from Oklahoma.
Even as the last bands of snowfall from the massive winter weather system headed out Sunday, Jan. 25 toward New England, the Sooner State stayed locked in a deep freeze.
Although the winter storm didn't dump as much snow on the state as some forecasts predicted — in part, due to a very dry layer of air near the Earth's surface, according to meteorologist Mike Collier — the National Weather Service in Norman awarded Oklahoma City new daily snowfall records with the 4.4 inches of snow that fell on Saturday, Jan. 25 and the 3 inches that fell on Sunday.
In total, the weekend storm dumped a suspected 8.5 inches of snow on the OKC metro — and it could stick around for much of this week.
The National Weather Service reported that wind chills were stuck between 5 and 20 degrees below 0 on Sunday, warning that the extreme cold is expected to linger into Tuesday, Jan. 27.
High temperatures were only expected to rise into the teens on Sunday and the 20s on Monday. Lows Sunday night were predicted to plunge into the single digits, with wind chills Sunday night into early Monday forecast from -2 to -10 degrees across the state.
Temperatures are anticipated to drop again into the single digits, with wind chills hovering at or just below 0, Monday night into early Tuesday throughout much of Oklahoma.
When will Oklahoma temperatures finally get above freezing?
After an extremely cold morning, the Sooner State is expected to finally get above the freezing mark Tuesday, as partly sunny skies push the temperatures into the 30s.
The week ahead won't get much warmer than that, with highs ranging from the 20s to the low 40s. Lows are predicted to stay in the teens and 20s through Saturday, Jan. 31, according to the National Weather Service's forecast.
Forecasters at the Norman station report that snow drifts could linger for "a couple of weeks" throughout the metro. With partly cloudy skies expected to hang over Oklahoma City through Wednesday evening, the sunlight should help melt the snow on asphalt and concrete — surfaces that are easier to heat —while snow on the grass will have a harder battle to clear.
Although temperatures are expected to remain well below normal throughout the week, the forecast looks drier, with just a 20% chance of wintry precipitation for Thursday and Friday.
What are Oklahoma's road conditions expected to be like this week?
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation on Sunday strongly encouraged drivers to stay off the roads throughout state. ODOT officials cited low temperatures and refreezing snow and ice as the main threats keeping the roads icy and treacherous.
"Both I-35 and I-40 are slick and hazardous from state line to state line," ODOT officials said Sunday morning.
Although the snow has stopped, transportation crews will continue winter weather operations until the roads are clear.
For those who must get out on the roads, ODOT advises drivers to slow down, stay at least 200 feet behind snowplows and stay aware of black ice on roadways. Motorists also are instructed to never pass snowplows.
Plus, Shawn Steward, public affairs manager for AAA Oklahoma, advised drivers to accelerate, turn and brake gradually; use extra caution on bridges and overpasses; slow down to minimize the need to brake on icy roads; and avoid tailgating, using cruise control and making unnecessary lane changes.
“Snow-covered and icy roads, sidewalks and parking lots will persist for the next few days until sun and higher temperatures can have an impact in helping clear surfaces. Salt and other materials applied to the roads to remove ice do not work as well in extreme cold. Drivers are urged to use caution as ice-coated roadways are expected to remain dangerous into mid week,” Seward said in an email.
“Please stay home until conditions improve unless you absolutely must be out. Fewer vehicles on the road also provides a safer environment for road crews and first responders, including tow drivers, to do their jobs."
Oklahomans can get the latest on road conditions at https://oklahoma.gov/odot/travel/traffic/road-conditions-resource.html.
How are Oklahoma schools and businesses dealing with the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern?
After the weekend snowfall scrapped numerous concerts, shows and church services, many businesses and events continued to close or cancel Monday in the wake of the winter storm.
With the frigid temperatures, poor road conditions and lingering snow and ice, several schools across Oklahoma planned to close or go virtual on Monday, including Oklahoma City Public Schools, Moore Public Schools, Norman Public Schools, Midwest City-Del City Public Schools and Edmond Public Schools.
Oklahoma State University opted to cancel classes and keep its Stillwater and Tulsa offices closed on Monday, while Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee will stay closed through Tuesday.
How is OKC's homeless population faring in the winter weather?
Over the wintry weekend, OKC's Homeless Alliance hosted about 450 people in its day shelter and nearly 400 in its overnight winter shelter.
"Our friends definitely have been coming in and hanging out with us. ... We've had our doors open, and we've been prepared for our neighbors to come in and seek shelter with us. It's been very crowded, but it's been great. Our community and our staff have really stepped up to support them and support us, and we're super thankful," Taylor Self, director of communciations for the Homeless Alliance, told The Oklahoman on Sunday.
For the week leading up to the storm, she said the Key to Home Partnership, the lead agency for OKC’s collaboration of homeless service providers, worked to get the word out to the local unhoused population about the incoming severe weather.
The storm's arrival just happened to coincide with the partnership's annual Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City on Friday. The more than 100 volunteers deployed for the yearly survey took advantage of the opportunity to encourage people to seek shelter, she said.
"Not everybody is comfortable with a shelter environment. ... Sometimes people do not want to leave their encampments because they fear leaving their things behind. They fear them getting stolen or destroyed. Sometimes people don't want to leave their pets behind, even though we do allow pets in our shelter," Self said.
"But when the temperatures and the weather get this dangerous, it can be life or death. So, we are really just thankful to have a space for our neighbors to take shelter from the storm, because really everybody deserves that safety and security."
She said she expects the Homeless Alliance's shelters as well as OKC's other emergency shelters to stay crowded this week as the bitter cold lingers.
"The winter shelter will remain open ... every single night from Nov. 1 through March 31, no matter the temperature," Self said. "We have beds for up to 300 people. However, when it gets this cold, we are not turning people away."
How did Winter Storm Fern impact the rest of the country?
In OKC, EMSA reported Sunday morning that crews had responded to two carbon monoxide incidents and 17 cold‑exposure emergencies since the storm rolled in Friday. In all, 12 patients were transported to hospitals for additional treatment over the weekend.
It was a light toll compared to the havoc Winter Storm Fern inflicted in other parts of the country: USA TODAY reported Sunday that wintry conditions across more than a dozen states led to President Trump approving federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.
Two men in northwest Louisiana died of hypothermia related to the winter weather, and more than 700,000 power outages had been reported across the path of the storm as of Sunday morning.
Total damage and economic losses from Winter Storm Fern are expected to exceed $100 billion, according to a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather.
Contributing: The Oklahoman Staff Writer Dale Denwalt.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
