TULSA, Okla. — The City of Tulsa is getting ready for the brutally cold weather forecasted for the area.
In a news release on Wednesday, city officials broke down some of the key areas the city can be proactive about before the storm moves into the area.
Streets:
- Public Works monitoring forecasts
- Crews may begin treating roadways with brine as early as Thursday night, depending on the timing and type of precipitation. (If rain precedes winter precipitation, brine may not be used.)
- Once the response begins, crews will operate 24 hours a day, working 12-hour shifts throughout the duration of the event
- As conditions warrant, crews will transition from pretreatment operations to plowing and continuous snow response efforts
On the part of street maintenance crews, preparation began well before the storm was on anyone's radar.
WATCH: Tulsa preparing for extreme cold, winter weather
"It takes months of preparing to get ready for this. We start running our trucks through the mechanic shops in September. Salt is not kind to vehicles," Street maintenance manager Tim McCorkell said, "The employees have been working on the truck this week to make sure everything’s loaded, and everything’s prepared to go."
The City of Tulsa is responsible for all clearing snow and ice from:
- All arterial (main) streets, including bridges, hills and overpasses
- Gilcrease Expressway (excluding the Turnpike section)
- L.L. Tisdale Expressway
Other highways are maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Additionally, Tulsa's neighborhood streets are generally left untreated (excluding hospital access streets) due to the focus on main roads and emergency routes.
"We usually like to have our trucks out a couple hours before, just so they’re already on their routes, they’re already ready to go when that snow starts falling," T.J. Gerlach, a spokesperson for ODOT said.
The City is also planning to help the homeless population. The city will open two warming shelters at CREOKS and the Tulsa Dream Center.
Both, according to Emily Hall, the mayor's senior advisor on homelessness, can hold around 200-250 people.
Hall said outreach teams will approach unhoused Tulsans, and attempt to take them to warmth.
"It’s a life-saving choice. We want to save your life," Hall said.
Everyday Tulsans are preparing for the bitter cold too.
"I’d say [Wednesday], I’ve had well over 200 phone calls … 200 text messages of customers wanting wood delivered either today or tomorrow," Chad Click, owner of Firewood King said.
One of those callers was Susan Baty.
"I’m an Iowa native so this weekend doesn’t really scare me! Regular stuff. Probably have a fire all day Saturday," Baty said.
For a complete list of the City's assets to combat winter precipitation, in addition to a map of the City's snow and ice routes, visit: www.cityoftulsa.org/winterpreparedness [cityoftulsa.org]
Animals:
City ordinances require when temperatures fall below 25 degrees, animals must be provided with shelter capable of maintaining a minimum temperature of 40 degrees. Tulsa Animal Services strongly recommends bringing pets indoors during periods of extreme cold.
If indoor space is limited, animals may be sheltered in areas such as bathrooms, laundry rooms, or garages to protect them from exposure.
Homes:
To protect property and improve safety:
- Pre-locate water meter can in case of frozen or busted pipes, as the snow can make meter cans hard to find
- Turn off all water sprinkler systems
Extended cold weather can also lead to waterline breaks.
- Check the City’s Waterline Break Board at www.cityoftulsa.org/breakboard [cityoftulsa.org] [cityoftulsa.org]
- Report unlisted breaks by calling (918) 596-9488
For more safety tips, visit: www.cityoftulsa.org/weather [cityoftulsa.org]
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