Spring snow hits western Oklahoma

SAYRE, Okla. (AP) -- A light spring snow dusted parts of western Oklahoma on Monday night, but the precipitation wasn't expected to last through the night.<br><br>A cold front moving east through Oklahoma

Tuesday, April 13th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SAYRE, Okla. (AP) -- A light spring snow dusted parts of western Oklahoma on Monday night, but the precipitation wasn't expected to last through the night.

A cold front moving east through Oklahoma brought a mixture of snow and rain through the state Monday night, but temperatures were expected to be back in the 70s by Wednesday, said Ken Gallant, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman.

Snow fell for several hours in Sayre and lasted until at least 9 PM Monday, said Janeta Davidson, a dispatcher for the Beckham County Sheriff's Department.

"It looked pretty heavy, but none of it stuck to the ground," Davidson said. "It was so warm on the ground that it melted and looked like rain."

Gallant said Altus, Mangum and Cheyenne also saw precipitation.

Freeze advisories were issued for western and northern Oklahoma. Temperatures were only expected to hover around 32 for a few hours.

Spring snowfalls in the Oklahoma Panhandle are common, but it's unusual for it to snow in far southwestern Oklahoma, Gallant said.

Davidson, however, wasn't surprised.

"This is Oklahoma, anything's possible," she said.