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December 25, 2012

White Christmas still on track for Norman

By Jessica Bruha The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Residents of Central Oklahoma can expect a pretty significant winter storm for Christmas, accordingto the National Weather Service in Norman.

Scott Curl, forecaster at the National Weather Service, said the Norman area can expect to see four to six inches of snow with 20 to 30 mph winds.

“The winds will reduce visibility making it a little more dangerous to be traveling around,” he said.

Curl said the storm likely will begin around midnight, Christmas Eve night, with mixed precipitation of rain and sleet. After sunrise Christmas Day it should switch to snow and continue snowing most of the day. By sunset, the snow will be mostly flurries and the flurries likely will continue throughout the evening until Wednesday morning.

Along with the snow, residents can expect a very strong north wind with wind chills well below zero, Curl said.

“If you don’t need to travel, by all means please stay indoors,” said Lt. Gary Shelton, Norman Police officer.

For those who do have to travel, Shelton said to drive slowly, leave enough distance between you and the car in front of you to allow more braking time and stick with the main snow routes.

As for police responding to calls during bad weather, Shelton said the police department has four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles as well as some vehicles that have studded tires, or snow tires.

Depending on how bad the weather gets, officers may only start responding to calls that require the most attention such as injury accidents.

“We won’t respond to the minor fender benders that happen in parking lots and in the streets,” he said.

Shelton said they still wil take calls for service and still continue to respond to citizen complaints.

Jessica Bruha366-3540jbruha@normantranscript.com

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