Blizzard January 31-February 1, 2011

Precipitation moved into eastern Oklahoma around 9 pm Jan. 31. The initial precipitation was mostly freezing rain or sleet, but as the cold air continued to spill south, a quick changeover to snow occurred across much of northeast Oklahoma. The snow continued, heavy at times, into the afternoon of Feb. 1 before tapering off. A few thunderstorms also accompanied the sleet and snow during the night of Jan. 31. Total snowfall amounts of 10-15 inches were common across northeast Oklahoma, with isolated heavier amounts near the Interstate 44 corridor. Tulsa officially recorded 14.0 inches of snow with this storm, breaking the record for the heaviest snowfall from a single storm.

Across the rest of eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas, freezing rain and sleet persisted for a longer period of time, leading to greater accumulations of ice and sleet. Ice accumulations were generally less than a quarter inch, with sleet accumulations of an inch or two in some places. The freezing rain and sleet did eventually change to snow, with snow accumulations ranging from 1 to 5 inches across much of southeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. Isolated heavier snow amounts did occur in the northwest corner of Arkansas, where the precipitation was quicker to change over to snow.