The City of Broken Arrow says it is preparing for the winter storm getting ready to blast the area this week, as the list of event and school cancellations are beginning to roll in.
Broken Arrow Public Schools announced Tuesday night that it would switch to distance learning for Wednesday.
“Our team has been monitoring the probability of inclement weather moving into our area overnight and throughout the day tomorrow. Because student safety is our number one priority, we will be transitioning to distance learning on Wednesday, February 2, for all students Pre-K through 12,” the school district said in statement. “All teachers will be providing distance learning from home and will not report to their sites. Additionally, meals will not be provided by the district’s child nutrition team.
“District offices will remain open and site administration will report as normal. All custodial, maintenance, and plant operations staff will report to their assigned sites. All ESC and COM employees will report to work as normal.
“We will continue to monitor the weather and driving conditions and will communicate any further closures by 2 p.m. tomorrow.”
Union Public Schools announced all classes will be through distance learning. “Teachers will be allowed to work from home. We will monitor the weather closely tomorrow and provide parents with further updates as information becomes available,” said UPS chief information officer Christopher Payne.
Beginning Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 12 a.m., the city of Broken Arrow’s Streets division will begin treating all bridges with salt. Once the bridges are treated, crews will concentrate on arterial streets in the city. This process will continue until snow begins to accumulate at which time Streets crews will transition to plowing snow from the roadways.
At 8 a.m. on Feb. 2, the Streets division will begin working 12-hour shifts during the weather event and until slick and hazardous road conditions are no longer a threat to public safety.
The city of Broken Arrow has 2,400 tons of salt along with a fleet of trucks equipped with plows and spreaders at its disposal, said communications manager Aaron McColloch.
Additionally, crews are on standby and ready to respond to downed trees, debris, traffic signal problems and other issues as they arise. Fleet maintenance will be staffed and available to address any equipment and/or mechanical needs throughout the weather event.
Motorists are encouraged to allow enough space between you and the vehicle ahead. During the weather event in 2021, the Broken Arrow Fire Department responded to extremely high numbers of injury calls due to slips and falls. “If you cannot stay inside, we urge citizens to take their time and watch their step,” McColloch said.
In the event the city must alter services to its customers because of the winter weather, the city will alert the public as soon as possible through our website and social media channels.
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Winter Storm Landon is expected to bring accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with local amounts up to 8 inches, with heaviest snow totals along and north of Interstate 44.
Snow and sleet accumulation of 2-5 inches is expected south of Interstate 44 through far northwest Arkansas. Ice accumulations of up to 0.10 inches with locally higher amounts are possible within the highest terrain of far northwest Arkansas.
Initial winter weather early Wednesday morning will focus north of a line from Tulsa to Bentonville, Ark. Temperatures will fall below freezing through the day and risk of winter weather will spread southward.
Travel could be impacted as early as late tonight through the morning commute Wednesday. More widespread wintry precipitation will expand across the region beginning mid-afternoon Wednesday and become heavy Wednesday evening through the early morning hours Thursday.
Expect travel conditions to become hazardous. Localized power outages should also be anticipated as winds increase and interact with any ice coated power lines.
Dangerous wind chill values will also develop Wednesday night with values of 0 to -5 degrees F likely.
Roads, bridges, and overpasses in the warning area are expected to become slick and hazardous. If travel is absolutely necessary, take a winter storm kit along with you, including such items as a first aid kit, water, booster cables, flashlight, shovel, blankets and extra clothing.
For the latest road conditions in Oklahoma call 1-844-465-4997 or go to okRoads.org.
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