Published February 03, 2010 07:00 am - Twice in as many months, Moore was blanketed with snow closing schools, businesses and some city services. The storm moved into Moore Thursday but wasn't as bad as the Christmas Eve blizzard.
"It wasn't as bad and there weren't as many vehicles out and around," City Manager Steve Eddy said.
Winter storms hit Moore twice in as many months
By Peggy Laizure and
Twice in as many months, Moore was blanketed with snow closing schools, businesses and some city services. The storm moved into Moore Thursday but wasn't as bad as the Christmas Eve blizzard.
"It wasn't as bad and there weren't as many vehicles out and around," City Manager Steve Eddy said. "The police chief said this morning it was significantly easier."
"Not everyone was doing last minute Christmas shopping or trying to get to grandma's house. We were able to stay ahead of things and I think the major roadways were clear by Saturday."
The Christmas Eve blizzard that dropped about a foot of snow in the area didn't affect schools because students were out for the Christmas holiday break. Moore schools closed Thursday and as of Tuesday were still closed.
Eddy said there were a few slips and falls over the weekend but no major accidents. And there were some sporadic power outages around town but nothing significant.
Cleveland County Commissioner Rusty Sullivan said he thought icing was a real problem for street and road crews because of downed tree limbs.
Even though it is too early to tell yet, Eddy said, the storm last week won't be as costly as the December storm.
"Our costs for the Christmas Eve storm were approximately $78,000," Eddy said. "This includes personnel costs in the public works, police, fire, and emergency management departments, contract labor with Silver Star Construction and the cost of materials."
The storm dropped about a half-inch of freezing rain in most places in the metro area before shifting over to sleet Thursday. Friday, wave two of the storm came as snow, with the National Weather Service reporting about 5-7 inches of snow falling in Moore.
Officials with Norman, Noble, Little Axe, Washington, Purcell and Lexington Public Schools also have canceled classes. Moore-Norman Technology Center and Oklahoma City Community College canceled classes. The University of Oklahoma canceled classes last week but were open this week.
Many area churches canceled weekend activities and some or all of their Sunday services due to outages or poor road conditions.
The storm had many meteorologists worried about a repeat of the December 2007 ice storm, which crippled hundreds of thousands of power customers in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas, some for weeks.