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Road conditions maps, good and bad

I had occasion Saturday afternoon to travel to Joplin with my dad (a seasonal celebrity), who was making an appearance at the Sam's Club there. There was freezing rain in the forecast, so I spent some time before leaving town looking for current weather and road condition information. Getting current...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 18, 2016 5:51 PM

June 8, 1974: Tulsa's first big tornado disaster

Forty years ago today, June 8, 1974, there was a massive tornado outbreak and widespread flash flooding in northeastern Oklahoma. At least 10 tornadoes touched down (possibly more from the long-track supercell that killed 12 Drumright residents and two others). For Tulsans who were kids in the '70s, it was...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 8, 2014 10:51 PM

Dewey Bartlett Jr: "As Mayor, I rely on The Weather Channel..."

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. was quoted in a web advertisement for The Weather Channel, part of the cable network's pushback in its battle against DirecTV's decision to replace the channel with WeatherNation on its satellite lineup. KJRH meteorologist George Flickinger posted a screenshot the ad on his Facebook page....

Posted by Michael Bates on January 14, 2014 10:46 PM

Tulsa power outage: City plans, PSO 7/24/2013, 10:30 am statement

Quite a storm last night, wasn't it? We lost a few limbs, but nothing major. The '06 microburst and '07 ice storm took our most vulnerable trees. More nasty weather may be on its way Thursday night after sunset. The grappler trucks are coming for your yard debris. The City...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 24, 2013 2:25 PM

NOAA Administrator worried early tornado warnings will lead to video game-playing

Dr. Wendy Sullivan, acting administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the parent agency for the National Weather Service), questioned the value of earlier warnings for those in the path of a tornado, suggesting that the early warning might lull residents into a sense of complacency. Sullivan was testifying...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 28, 2013 6:10 PM

Don Woods "gravely ill," "in good spirits"

Legendary Tulsa TV weatherman Don Woods is "gravely ill", but "in good spirits" according to a report on KTUL.com: Don is now 84 years old. He spoke with Channel 8 News Director Carlton Houston Tuesday and says he's been in good spirits recently and enjoying the company of family and...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 26, 2012 6:24 AM

Tornado outbreak expected; prepare to take cover

The National Weather Service in Tulsa is forecasting a tornado outbreak for Oklahoma tonight, May 24, 2011. Atmospheric conditions are ripe for "strong, long-track tornadoes" of the sort that hit Joplin on Sunday evening, the sort that can rip a long half-mile-wide swath across a city, the sort that...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 24, 2011 9:57 AM

Snowbound

Thanks be to God: We are all cozy and home. Power, cable, phone, and internet all work. Plenty of food in the fridge and pantry. I made my last trips to the store and the gas station at about 10 Monday night, just as sharp ice pellets began to fall...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 2, 2011 12:26 AM

Ice storm photos

David Schuttler has posted some pretty pictures of Tulsa's January 2010 ice and snow storm....

Posted by Michael Bates on January 30, 2010 12:10 AM

Oklahoma ice storm on Twitter

As the weather gets worse, it's less likely I'll be able to post here at BatesLine, but as long as I have a cellphone connection, I can post brief updates on Twitter. You can follow my "tweets" (Twitter updates) by clicking this link: @BatesLine. By consensus, tweets about the Oklahoma...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 28, 2010 8:39 AM

Ice forecast a little less bad

I realize there are other things in the news tonight -- the FOP turning down the City of Tulsa's alternative to layoffs, the State of the Union show -- but my mind has been focused on getting my family ready for what could be a week or so without power....

Posted by Michael Bates on January 27, 2010 10:49 PM

An inch of ice in Tulsa?

The latest update from the NWS has the freezing rain zone shifted northward, with Tulsa County in the 4 and 5 zone. Nearly everything north of I-40 would be either SPIA 4 or 5, with little to no ice south of I-40. The latest forecast also drops the forecast snowfall...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 27, 2010 12:02 PM

Tulsa ice forecast update, stocking up

The National Weather Service office in Tulsa posted another informative ice storm forecast briefing at 5 pm on Tuesday. This one is twice as long, shows the two weather systems that are on course to collide right over Oklahoma, explains some of the uncertainties in the timing of the storm,...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 26, 2010 10:37 PM

Bad ice, high winds, heavy snow on their way

It's gonna be bad. Ice -- enough, with the forecast wind speeds, to cause significant power outages of the sort we had in December 2007 -- followed by lots of snow and single-digit temperatures. At least, that's what our local weatherfolk are predicting. Click the link to view a 7-minute...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 26, 2010 11:30 AM