Two salt brine systems, 49 salt spreaders, 54 total snow plows, 12,000 tons of salt — the City of Tulsa has all that at the ready to work on snowy or icy roads during the winter weather season.
It’s hard to say right now how often they’ll need to be in service, though. National Weather Service Tulsa Meteorologist-in-Charge Steve Piltz said models show a neutral state El Niño pattern transitioning to a mild La Niña over the next several months.
"They don’t favor warm over cold. They don’t really favor wet over dry. But it only takes that one, odd weather system to suddenly dump that foot of snow or that inch of ice that then causes the big trouble," Piltz said.
Piltz said the only thing he can say with confidence is Tulsa will get at least 1.6 inches of snow this season — the total that fell on Nov. 12 — but people should be ready for anything.
"Oftentimes, our big snow events and ice events have been preceded by temperatures in the 50s, 60s and 70s. So, don’t be fooled by a winter storm forecast three or four days from now and it’s 70 degrees," Piltz said.
Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Joe Kralicek said between that early season snowfall and tabletop exercises three days later, government agencies are prepared to deal with slick roads and other issues.
"Now’s the time where we want you to prepare, and there’s three areas that you really need to focus on preparing as an individual: Focus on preparing your house, focus on preparing your car and focus on preparing yourself," Kralicek said.
Those preparations include testing your generator at home and checking the car’s tires and battery. Kralicek recommended downloading the Tulsa Ready planning app for weather information and tips on preparing your family for emergencies.
