BY SCRAPING

Winter weather expected to continue through Thursday for OKC

Frozen precipitation that glazed trees, roads and vehicles and shut down schools Tuesday afternoon is expected to continue through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Metro-area street crews began salting streets late Tuesday morning, several hours after a strong cold front swept in from northwest Oklahoma, bringing temperatures down more than 30 degrees from where they were Monday.

Tuesday’s high temperature was a balmy 68 degrees in Oklahoma City — a mark it reached at 2:52 a.m. Temperatures dropped throughout the day, and by 5 p.m., the temperature was 27 degrees, according to the weather service.

Reports of slick and hazardous conditions led to Oklahoma Department of Transportation crews to mobilize and begin treating bridges and highways in central and northwest Oklahoma. Road crews are expected to continue treating roadways as temperatures remain below freezing.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oklahoma City fire crews had responded to 27 wrecks since 8:45 a.m., said Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson.

“It’s been a pretty busy day, overall,” Fulkerson said.

By 4 p.m., Oklahoma City police officials announced that they would not be responding to non-injury wrecks, telling motorists involved in minor wrecks to move off the roadway and exchange insurance information.

The winter weather led a number of schools to close early, with the University of Oklahoma closing their campus at 12:45 p.m. and the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University campuses closing at 2 p.m. School officials in Oklahoma City and Edmond also released students early due to the weather conditions.

Freezing rain and sleet are likely for the metro area Wednesday as light precipitation is forecast throughout the day, said Matthew Day, meteorologist for the National

Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to only reach about 32 degrees for a high.

The winter weather is expected to continue into Thursday morning before temperatures begin to climb into the upper 30s, Day said.

Day said areas of central Oklahoma could see more than 0.10 inch of ice through Thursday.

Motorists should use extra caution while driving over bridges and overpasses and plan on leaving early as winter weather conditions persist.

[PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN] Linda Lane scrapes ice from her car’s windshield in the parking lot of the Tinker Area YMCA on Tuesday morning.

[PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN] Below: University of Oklahoma students walk to dormitories and parking lots after classes were canceled on Tuesday in Norman.

[PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN] Right: Linda Lane scrapes ice from her car’s windshield in Midwest City on Tuesday morning.