Governor Fallin issued a state of emergency Thursday for all 77 Oklahoma counties ahead of a predicted winter storm. When she issued the declaration, forecasts were expecting most of the state to be hit by ice, freezing rain and snow on Friday and Saturday. Because the weather event may include dangerous road conditions and power outages, this state of emergency is being issued in advance of the storm to allow emergency management and other partners to preposition resources.
In preparation for the storm, the state Emergency Operations Center will be activated. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) is working with local emergency managers across the state as well as numerous emergency response and recovery partners.
However, Friday morning forecasts have revised the event’s severity with southwest Oklahoma taking the hardest hit from the winter storm.
