Southwest Oklahoma saw its first snowfall of the year on Sunday and Monday. Some areas in our corner of the state had up to five inches of heavy, wet snow. According to AP sources, Beckham County had 5.2 inches of snow, and Kiowa had five inches. The Altus area received between three and four inches.

The snowflakes began to blow in from the south at about 4:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon and accumulated through Monday morning. On Monday the winds shifted from the south, and the afternoon sun quickly melted the snow. Drivers had slick roads to deal with Tuesday morning. Freezing fog condensed in many low-lying areas. The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory for a large portion of the state until 10 a.m. Tuesday.

On Monday, Altus Public Schools delayed classes to 9 a.m. Western Oklahoma State College classes started at noon. Navajo, Blair, Duke, Granite, Mangum and Hollis were off for the day.

There were several accidents in Altus Sunday night and at least two rollover accidents on local highways, presumably due to low visibilities in blowing snow. Emergency Management in Altus used the Blackboard System Sunday night to appeal to drivers to stay off the roads when possible. Icy roads closer to the metro, especially on overpasses and elevated roads, caused several Monday morning commuting accidents. One man, a Duncan resident, was killed when another driver lost control of his van on Hwy. 29.

Temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s, rising to 70 degrees before the weekend.