Oklahoma Braces for Wintry Weather

Associated Press - January 26, 2009 4:45 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A winter storm has covered most of the state with a layer of ice today leading to at least one traffic death and nearly 1,300 power outages.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says a truck driver was killed this afternoon when his semi cab skidded off an icy stretch of the Turner Turnpike near Chandler.

The victim's name wasn't immediately released.

Governor Henry has declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties and the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning until 6 tomorrow evening for most of central, south-central and northeast Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported about 460 outages in the Ardmore and Del City areas while Public Service Company of Oklahoma had about 800 in the Lawton area.

Both the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University closed early - but the OU-OSU basketball game in Stillwater is still on.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ty Judd in Norman says the storm system is expected to move out of the state by tomorrow afternoon and temperatures are to reach the 30s to 40s on Wednesday.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.