There are so many ice damage reports from Oklahoma that it will be impossible to list them all, because this report would be 10-feet long. However, this single report is typical.
In Jackson County, Oklahoma, there is widespread tree and power line damage extending west into Harmon County. There is an estimated 1 inch to 1.5 inch accumulation on all elevated surfaces. At least 200 power poles are down in Jackson County alone. Many section of the main power feeder line from Hollis to Altus were also down. At Hobart, in Kiowa County, four–H-shaped power poles are snapped off. There is no power in that county from Hobart southward. In Greer County, about 1 inch of glaze on everything. Miles of power lines are down. Every tree in the county has been damaged. The heavy ice load has snapped off awnings on store fronts. The Noah Weather Radio transmitter tower has fallen from an ice load in Lawton. Some of those type reports will also be typical in North and Central Arkansas as the day goes on.
THE ALABAMA SITUATION
Rain has overspread a good part of NW Alabama from just west of Tuscaloosa and Birmingham to Guntersville. With the Doppler radar in a winter mosaic setting, there appears to be some light sleet in the extreme NW part of the state as well as much of the northern fourth of Mississippi. A general rain will set in across Central Alabama by this afternoon, including Birmingham. A Flash Flood Watch continues for a number of counties across Central Alabama, including the Birmingham area for this afternoon and tonight. We believe that Birmingham area temperatures will stay above freezing during this rain event. There is no absolute guarantee, so if it gets colder than we expected, we may have to entertain some thoughts of wintry precipitation. Up in North Alabama, the NWS in Huntsville continues a Winter Weather Advisory for all counties across the Tennessee Valley including from about Cullman County northward. This is a situation we will, of course, watch closely.
NORTH OF ALABAMA
If you are traveling north of Alabama, good luck. All along the I-40 corridor from the Texas Panhandle, across Arkansas and Tennessee into Western North Carolina will become hazardous. In many areas, it already has. The Nashville area will get several inches of snow and heavier north of Nashville. Same story for Memphis and Knoxville. Gatlinburg could easily get 6 to 10 inches of snow.
LATEST SPOT REPORTS
Oklahoma City…24, light snow, wind chill 11
Stillwater…24, light snow, wind chill 14
Tulsa…27, light sleet
Little Rock…32, light sleet, NE gusts to 25, wind chill 22
West Memphis…30, freezing rain, wind chill 22
Nashville…27, light snow, wind chill 16
Tupelo…34, cloudy, wind chill 24
Asheville, NC…35, cloudy
ALABAMA SPOT REPORTS
Muscle Shoals…33, mixed precipitation, wind chill 29
Cullman Airport…33, mixed precipitation, wind chill 27
Haleyville…31, freezing rain, wind chill 26
Huntsville, 36, cloudy
Gadsden…39, cloudy
Birmingham…43, cloudy
Tuscaloosa…43, cloudy
