A powerful storm began blowing through Oklahoma and the southern Plains on the first day of spring Saturday, bringing heavy snow and strong winds a day after temperatures reached into the 70s. Officials said gusts of up to 40 mph could create drifts of blowing snow and blizzard conditions in what the National Weather Service called "a potentially life-threatening" storm. The weather could also affect attendance at men's and women's NCAA tournament games this weekend in Oklahoma City and Norman.
Much of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, along with parts of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, were under a storm warning that was to last into Sunday. Travel was being discouraged in central and northern Oklahoma, where authorities said roads were slick and hazardous. Several flights were delayed or canceled at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City because of snow and freezing fog, spokeswoman Karen Carney said.
Authorities reported multiple wrecks amid heavy snow and high winds. The Highway Patrol did not report any that were fatal.
If the storm resembles the one that hit central Oklahoma on Dec. 24, which brought about 14 inches of snow, "then people need to stay in today," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West.
Forecasters said snow accumulations will average 4 to 8 inches over much of northern, central and eastern Oklahoma, with up to a foot in some areas northeast of Oklahoma City. In Kansas, 6 to 12 inches of snow were possible. Accumulations of 1 to 4 inches were forecast for north-central Kansas.
Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph, whose team will take on Arkansas-Little Rock in Norman on Sunday, said the weather reminded her of her home state of Indiana.
"One day it's 70 and the next day we're having a blizzard," she said.
In the men's basketball tournament, Kansas plays Northern Iowa and Kansas State plays BYU in second-round games. In the women's tournament, Oklahoma will host South Dakota State.
The Remington Park race track, which annually hosts one of the top quarter horse racing meets in the nation, canceled its Saturday card. The Grade 2 Oklahoma Futurity was rescheduled for March 27.
The storm is the third major winter storm to hit Oklahoma in the last three months, including a Christmas Eve blizzard that stranded holiday travelers at airports and on snow-packed highways. Forecasters, though, said that this time temperatures should rebound into the 60s as soon as Monday.
"This will be kind of short-lived," said National Weather Service meteorologist John Pike in Norman. "Tomorrow it will be moving out and we'll start a warming trend after that."
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