City Of Tulsa Preparing For Winter Weather

Mayor G.T. Bynum, The Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, the National Weather Service, and the Public Service Company of Oklahoma, held a news conference on Monday to speak about being prepared for winter weather.

The Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency says now is the time to get your home ready by doing things like disconnecting water hoses.

They encourage everyone to begin stockpiling food and water, in case snow or ice keeps you inside for days and they say to make sure your car is winter-ready by checking the battery and tires.

The City of Tulsa is in charge of clearing snow and ice from some segments of the Tulsa expressway system while other segments are the responsibility of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 

According to the City of Tulsa, these resources are available.

• 49 truck-mounted salt spreaders
• 44 truck-mounted snow plows (Of the 49 trucks with spreaders, 44 have plows.)
• 7 4x4 pick-up trucks equipped with snow plows
• 3 motor graders for use as plows
• 170 employees (including drivers and support staff)
• Approximately 12,000 tons of salt on hand
• 2 salt brine systems equipped with 2 applicators

"I think right now Tulsa is better prepared for winter weather than we have been at any point in the past," said Joseph Kralicek for the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency.  "I want to take a moment to remind everybody that they need to take this time to prepare themselves, prepare their homes, and prepare their cars so that they don't end up a victim in need of assistance during severe weather." 

Crews are assigned to 35 specific routes around Tulsa. City officials say during winter weather response, the first focus is to clear city arterial streets for emergency responders. Spreading and plowing routes are prioritized based on traffic counts.

The following link includes every map and routes the City uses www.cityoftulsa.org/winterpreparedness

The City says you can receive emergency updates by downloading the free Tulsa Ready App, for Android or iOS systems.