Dust-filled air results in health advisory in Oklahoma

 

All the dust stirred up by 50 mile an hour winds on Tuesday in Oklahoma resulted in an air quality health advisory issued Wednesday by the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Officially, it was a Particulate Matter health advisory. Of particular concern were 12 counties in the Southwest part of the state where the advisory was described as “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.”

The 12 counties identified for the “unhealthy” advisory were: Canadian, Oklahoma, Cleveland, McClain, Grady, Caddo, Kiowa, Comanche, Stephens, Cotton, Tillman and Jackson.

Cities involved were Oklahoma City, Norman, Anadarko, El Reno, Chickasha, Duncan, Lawton, Altus, Frederick, Walters, and Hobart.

 

For a graphic of affected counties, visit https://www.deq.ok.gov/air-quality-division/air-quality-health-advisory/

 

The dust filled the air on Tuesday and the strong gusting winds also resulted in power outages for several thousand customers of Oklahoma Gas and Electric.

OG&E reported wind gusts up to 65 mph resulted in power outages and as of late Tuesday, the count was down to about 2,600 customers. Damage included downed power lines, broken power poles, cross arms and other equipment.

OG&E mobilized abut 400 restoration personnel to areas where the wind was strongest and outages were the highest. The company expected restoration to be slowed as the windy conditions require crews to take additional safety precautions.