Cold weather this week did not pose the icy dangers many were expecting but still led to area schools and offices closing as a precaution. Temperatures remained dangerously low by Thursday while most Ardmoreites resumed business as usual.

“We haven’t had any issues with the roads,” said Amber Wilson, the director of the Ardmore Department of Civil Emergency Management, on Wednesday. “Even yesterday when we were getting moisture, everything seemed to stay moving pretty good.”

City street crews were put onto 12-hour shifts early in the week to prepare for the potential of icy weather. Wilson said those crews have specific routes to keep major thoroughfares and intersections in town sanded, mostly for emergency personnel and first responders. The temperature in Ardmore dropped below freezing by Tuesday morning and has barely risen out of the teens through Thursday morning, but precipitation this week failed to materialize locally.

“North of us I think it got a little worse,” Wilson said. “Knock on wood, we’ve done really well. We haven’t had a whole lot of issues with the roads or anything. I haven’t even had a lot of reports of accidents.”

The cold weather did prompt many area schools to close campuses and either cancel classes or move to virtual learning. Ardmore City Schools on Monday afternoon announced schools in the district would move to virtual learning for two days, with schools reopening on Thursday morning. Even though snow and ice stayed away from Ardmore, the district on Wednesday was still warning families to be safe in single-digit temperatures.

“We ask families to be patient with our bus drivers as they take extra precautions at bus stops,” read a Wednesday evening announcement from the district.

Plainview Public Schools and Oak Hall Episcopal School both cancelled classes entirely on Tuesday and Wednesday, with campuses reopening on Thursday.

The cold and threats of ice also prompted government offices across Ardmore to close and even caused one public meeting to be cancelled. The Carter County Administration and Ardmore City Hall both closed early on Tuesday, and the Ardmore City Commission announced their Tuesday evening meeting would be rescheduled. That meeting would later be cancelled entirely and agenda items will be moved to the next regular meeting on March 3, according to City Clerk Lori Linney.

The cold was also blamed for broadcast problems for one southern Oklahoma radio station. National Public Radio affiliate KCCU, based in Lawton, announced on Thursday morning that the station’s Ardmore translator was not working. According to the station’s Facebook page, technicians were expected at the site on Thursday but listeners could still find the station’s programming online.

The National Weather Service in Norman expects temperatures in Ardmore to remain below freezing until Friday afternoon before dropping into the low 20s overnight Friday. By Monday, high temperatures are forecast to be in the low 70s.