Wind Chill Advisories Continue For NE Oklahoma

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Northeastern Oklahoma woke up Thursday morning in the deep freeze and we are not expected to see any relief until at least Sunday or Monday.

News On 6 meteorologist Alan Crone has been tracking the arctic blast and says the main concern Thursday and Friday is the wind chill factor. 

The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory statewide through Friday evening.

For much of northeastern Oklahoma it will be as low as minus 15 degrees.  With those types of wind chill factors, experts say you can experience frostbite after 30 minutes in negative 20 wind chill temperatures. 

That time drops to 10 minutes if it gets down to negative 40, and only five minutes at negative 60 degrees. 

The bitter temperatures forced many Green Country schools to close their doors Thursday and some on Friday.

With the temperatures dropping, many of us are turning up the heat in our homes.  But what you use to stay warm could be the biggest danger to your family this winter. 

Tulsa Fire says to keep flammable objects away from your heater closet and three feet away from space heaters.  But the most important tool to protect your family this winter, a smoke detector.

Another concern is carbon monoxide. 

CO is found in fumes produced by small gasoline engines, stoves, lanterns, burning charcoal and wood, gas ranges, and heating systems. 

The Oklahoma Department of Health says during a winter storm in January 2007, 66 Oklahomans were treated for CO poisoning, and 96 percent of these injuries occurred in the home. 

CO poisoning had the second highest hospitalization rate of all injuries. 

Tulsa Police are telling motorists to not leave their vehicles unattended while running.  Police say over the past couple of weeks, police have seen an increase in auto thefts due to thieves taking advantage of citizens attempting to warm their vehicles. 

Elsewhere, strong winds are blowing and brought down power lines in central Oklahoma Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported about 30,000 customers without power at one point, but the number of outages was down to just more than 4,400 customers.

01/06/2010 Related Story: AAA Gives Advice For Winter Car Travel Kits
01/04/2010 Related Story: Tulsa Mechanics Offer Advice For Winter Vehicle Care
12/08/2008 Related Story: Keeping Pets Warm In The Cold

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