Winter Weather Threatens To Impact Travel In Oklahoma

Winter weather is in the forecast as an arctic front approaches Green Country. The first wave of wintry precipitation is expected to arrive Thursday with a second wave bringing light snow over the weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for snow, sleet and freezing rain in effect from Thursday morning through Friday afternoon.

The watch includes Adair, Creek, Okmulgee, Wagoner, Tulsa, Rogers, Mayes, Delaware, Pawnee, Craig and several other counties.

Though temperatures should reach into the lower 50s Wednesday afternoon, increasing clouds and frigid air will spill into the state Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

See a full list of counties under weather watches

"This winter weather storm watch means significant travel impacts are expected with accumulations of snow, sleet and freezing rain that could be causing quite a few problems throughout the state," said WARN Team Meteorologist Mike Grogan.

The front will be moving in from the southwest to northeast parts of the state. The Tulsa area should see a mix of snow and sleet. Areas along and south of Interstate 40 may see a sleet and ice mix, Grogan said.

Expect precipitation to start falling from Thursday morning into the afternoon depending upon your location.

Temperatures are expected to remain below freezing for 96 to 120 hours, according to WARN Team Meteorologist Alan Crone.

"A general idea of 2 to 4 inches of wintry precip seems a possibility along the I-44 corridor through Sunday morning," Crone said Tuesday morning.

Accumulations will depend on when the sleet transitions into snowfall. Keep checking with News On 6 and NewsOn6.com.

In the meantime, Tuesday morning dawned mild but very foggy. Several Oklahoma counties were under a dense fog advisory as visibilities were reduced to less than a quarter mile, creating hazardous driving conditions.