Oklahoma bunkers down for winter storm

Schools, offices and downtown streets sat abandoned across Oklahoma on Thursday under a dazzling layer of white -- a one-two<br>punch of winter that brought both fun and danger.<br><br>Children tested

Thursday, January 27th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Schools, offices and downtown streets sat abandoned across Oklahoma on Thursday under a dazzling layer of white -- a one-two
punch of winter that brought both fun and danger.

Children tested sleds, customers at a Seminole hardware store parking lot bombed each other with snowballs and Oklahomans in
places that hadn't seen snow in years marveled at its beauty.

"I wish I had a sled to get out there and have some fun," said Judy Burch, looking onto the snow-covered pines of her ranch near
Tishomingo.

But for parts of the state already blanketed by a storm that moved through Wednesday, the swirling white snow showers and freezing rain meant hazards, too.

Road conditions deteriorated statewide, snowfall reduced visibility and in some areas highways were covered in snow. Cars and trucks slid off I-40 all day east of Checotah, but there were no reported fatalaties, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol dispatcher said.

Eufaula received 17 inches of snow and most local residents were staying inside, said Peggy Trottier, a volunteer with the city
emergency management office.

Motels along the highways were filling, she said, prompting emergency officials to contact the American Red Cross in the event housing might be needed for stranded travelers.

"If you have to go outside, you're stepping in snow halfway to your knees," she said.

Schools closed statewide. Meetings were postponed. State offices excused all but essential personnel from work. Some courts also shut down so workers could stay safe at home.

Those who had to work trudged through the snow in downtown Tulsa with bowed heads and miserable faces.

A Federal Express courier with snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes reached for office doors and found them locked.

Bret Ralston already had been stuck once in a snow-covered parking lot and had encountered confused motorists driving the
wrong way on streets whose markings were covered by brown slush.

He looked forward to "going home and hugging my wife."

Forecasters called for the heaviest snowfall in central Oklahoma and said some roads could become nearly impassable. As much as 10
to 14 inches of snow were possible and had fallen in some areas. By late in the day, winter weather warnings were canceled for most of
the state although some snow continued to fall.

Ten inches of snow had fallen in Ada by 4 p.m. Oklahoma City had 9 inches at Will Rogers World Airport, the most since January 1988, when 12.1 inches fell over a two-day period.

By 4 p.m., 12 inches had fallen in Okmulgee, 10 in McAlester, and 7 in Tulsa.

Farmers and ranchers welcomed the snowfall on their parched pastures. "We've been pretty dry," said Clay Jones, director of the Bryan County extension office. "We definitely need the moisture on the winter wheat pasture and rye grass."

Skies in far southeastern Oklahoma spewed flakes as big as quarters and sometimes freezing rain Thursday morning. Idabel
hardware store owner Jerry LeClaire sold a dozen snow shovels in an hour.

"I'm from Minnesota and this is like snow flurries to me," he said. "But the natives down here are nervous."

Seminole's ACE Hardware also was selling off its supply of snow shovels and anything that could be used as a sled, said salesman Tracy Wilcox --"trash can lids and stuff."

Grocery stores dealt with a rush of customers Wednesday and Thursday. Some stores ran out of key supplies. "Milk, bread, eggs," said Wewoka Food Center assistant manager
Sheila Qualls, ticking off the hot-sellers there.

By 11 a.m., the snow on Oklahoma City streets was too deep for salt alone to work effectively. Crews working 12-hour shifts began using road graders with salt spreaders following behind.

Crews at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City and Tulsa International Airport worked to keep runways open. But in Oklahoma City, Wiley Post and Clarence Page airports, both general aviation airports, closed temporarily because of snow, said Bill Ingraham, the city's assistant director of airports.

At the state Capitol, parking lots normally jammed with cars were nearly empty as most state employees got the day off. Sidewalks around the State Capitol complex were covered by a layer of snow so deep that it covered curbs and shrubbery. Footsteps echoed only occasionally through the Capitol's
otherwise empty halls. "I didn't have a problem at all getting here," said John Cox,
press secretary for Gov. Frank Keating. Cox said Keating was in his office catching up on paperwork after canceling a trip to Ponca
City.