Frigid weather covers Muskogee area
Dec. 22—Plunging temperatures Thursday morning prompted people to stay off slick streets and seek shelter.
City of Muskogee spokeswoman Tera Shows said the city knows of two places where people can find shelter:
—Gospel Rescue Mission, 323 Callahan St.
—Christ Kingdom Builders Church at 24th Street and Broadway.
Shows said the city delivered cots and other supplies to Christ Kingdom Builders on Wednesday.
According to the AccuWeather website for Muskogee, temperatures are expected to remain below freezing for the rest of Thursday, with wind gusts of up to 53 mph. Temperatures on Friday are expected to reach 16 degrees.
Shows said city road crews pretreated streets through Wednesday evening and were out at 5 a.m. Thursday.
City of Muskogee Emergency Management Director Tyler Evans said a Frito-Lay delivery truck ran off the road Thursday morning on West Okmulgee Avenue.
Muskogee County Emergency Management Director Jeff Smith said people should not go out if they don't have to be out.
"The winds are very, very strong, and with the slick conditions just make it more likely you can be blown off the roadway, he said, adding that people seem to be driving more slowly.
He said road conditions deteriorated rapidly Thursday morning and crews are seeing a number of minor accidents.
"Temperatures are still dropping, we still have precipitation coming down," Smith said on Thursday morning. "City, county and state road crews have been out, and they're going to continue to be out during this whole event. But some of the temperatures are getting to where some of these solutions — some of the brine, the sand, the salt they're putting out — aren't really effective when the temperatures are the worst thing."
Smith said that with heavy wind chills, "It's just a matter of time for there to be some harm with frostbite."
People who get stranded should stay in their cars and put on their flashers.
"Don't leave the safety of your car if you don't have to," he said.
