Remembering Oklahoma's Blizzard Of 2011

Who can forget the sudden start to winter last January.  Spring-like temperatures tied a record set in 1947 in Tulsa and then 24 hours later a record blizzard struck Oklahoma.

Monday, January 30th 2012, 11:40 am

By: News On 6

Who can forget the sudden start to winter last January?

Spring-like temperatures tied a record set in 1947 in Tulsa and then 24 hours later a record-setting blizzard struck Oklahoma.

Governor Mary Fallin declared a State of Emergency for all 77 counties and most Tulsa area schools canceled classes ahead of the predicted storm based on what was in the forecast.

State and local officials discouraged travel and positioned road clearing equipment ahead of the big storm.

When the storm did hit, one year ago Tuesday, it set a new snowfall record for one day in Tulsa.

The National Weather Service said 14 inches of snow was recorded at Tulsa International Airport. The previous record for Tulsa was 12.9 inches in March 1994.

It also breaks the record for the amount of snowfall for the month of February.

Snowfall totals across Northeast Oklahoma:

Owasso - 21 inches
Hominy – 20 inches
Claremore - 20 inches
Skiatook - 17 inches
Miami - 12 inches
Vinita – 12 inches
Nowata – 11 inches

Strong winds and single digit temperatures made travel across much of northeastern Oklahoma difficult if not impossible.

Tulsa International Airport shut down with all flights in and out of the airport canceled.

What made matters worse was this storm was just the first in a series of winter blasts which brought much of Oklahoma to a standstill in the days ahead.

The Oklahoma National Guard was activated and soldiers provided support to Oklahoma law enforcement.

The Will Rogers Turnpike was shut down from Tulsa to the Missouri state line and the National Guard was sent out to rescue stranded motorists.