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Power Outages 'Very Likely' as Freezing Rain Hits Northeast Oklahoma

It may be fall, but Oklahoma is seeing winter weather.

The National Weather Service forecasts significant icing in northeast Oklahoma into Tuesday evening, with up to a total of 0.4 inches possible across western Osage and Pawnee counties.

Ice accumulation on trees that are still bearing leaves and wind gusts around 30 mph make tree damage and power outages "very likely."

Significant travel impacts are expected, and bridges and overpasses are the biggest concern. 

As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, EMSA had responded to six calls of cold exposure, with four patients transported to local hospitals. Hypothermia can occur when a person's body temperature falls below 95 degrees. Signs and symptoms include shivering, slurred speech or mumbling, slowed breathing, a weak pulse, and confusion.

Winter weather in northeast Oklahoma will be followed by more rain through Thursday. Forecasts call for around 3 inches in all in Tulsa and up to 4.5 inches in other areas of northeast Oklahoma, but there’s a chance rainfall totals exceed 6 inches in some areas.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.