McALESTER — The McAlester area has seen some of the heaviest snowfalls and lowest temperatures in memory over the past week, taxing government services, businesses and individuals. Here’s what some people in the area recall about past winters.

Nick Conley, 34, of Krebs, is a longtime area resident. He doesn’t remember a time when the snow stayed on the ground for as long as it has during this recent wintry weather.

“Even when we had the ice and sleet storm,” Conley said, “the power might have been out for a while but the snow and ice melted off the ground pretty quick. It didn’t stick for this long.”

Frida Burden, of McAlester, was asked if she could remember a storm worse than this. “I can’t remember any being as bad as this one,” said Burden who, like many, has been unable to leave her home. “I can’t leave my house for fear of falling.”

She remembers an ice storm that caused widespread power failures, and that one may have been worse overall, she said.

“The ice storm a few years ago was worse than this one, loss-of-power-wise,” she said. That’s not all. “I lost two pecan trees that year.”

Dot Thompson, also of McAlester, recalled the ice storm in 2007.

“Oh yes, the ice storm in 2007 was way worse than this,” she said. “We had no power, and had to keep putting wood in the fireplace to keep the house from freezing. We were cooking on camp cookware because my husband worked with the Scouts.

“I stayed wrapped up in a blanket.”

She’s glad the current snow storm has not resulted in many power outages.

“At least we are comfortable in our home with this one,” Thompson said. “We didn’t have any heat or anything (during the 2007 storm), so my husband warmed up some water for us so we could take a bath on a little stove.”

Stephanie Mowat, of Stillwater, was in McAlester awaiting more favorable road conditions before returning home.

“I’m stuck in McAlester because I came up here to take some classes,” Mowat said. “So now I’m just waiting for the roads to clear up.”

She also remembers an ice storm that resulted in heavy tree branches taking out many power lines.

“It’s not as bad as the ice storm because we didn’t have electricity with that one,” she said. “It was dark at night and we had to go to bed real early.”

Pat Smith, of McAlester, also had an opinion about the weather.

“It sucks,” she said.

Still, the ice storms of recent years must be counted as worse, she said.

“2000 and 2007 were much worse than this one,” Smith said. “In 2000, it was just a lot of trees down, but in 2007 we lost power for days. It was miserable, and just keeping warm was a challenge.”

Smith said that even though there have been no widespread power outages with the current wintry mix, the heavy snowfall and cold is making it tough for residents to go about their business.

“We kept the power this time and the tree damage is less but we can’t get out, which is bad,” Smith said. “But, there is not as much damage and we have heat, which is good.”

Mike Belusko, who lives on the north side of Hartshorne, has been going outside to face the frigid temperatures to care for his animals.

“I’ve got a few cattle and I have to go to the pond and chop the ice and give them hay,” he said. “It’s taken a little longer but it wasn’t too bad.”

He was surprised by the heavy snowfall that fell in the Hartshorne area on Friday.

“I went outside and the snow was six inches deep,” he said.

Still, he has managed to stay warm. “I’ve got a wood stove and wood in the shed,” he said.

“We have good years and bad years when it comes to the weather,” Belusko said. “As cold, snowy and icy as it has been, it could have been worse.”

Belusko said he told his sister, Jo Ann, to look at how rough it has been up north.

Debbie Adams, whose husband Jimmy Adams is foreman at the Warren Spahn Ranch southwest of Hartshorne, didn’t recall any other winter storms quite like this one.

“This is unreal,” he said. “We just don’t get this kind of weather down here.”

She remembered the two big ice storms which hit the area in years past didn’t come with low temperatures in the single digits for days afterwards.

Adams said when the storm hit Tuesday, she and her family went without electrical power from about 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Kiamichi Electric Co-op, which provides electricity for that area, got the power restored, she said.

“We were so happy,” said Adams. “It had been so cold after the winter storm struck on Tuesday that even our generator was frozen,” Adams said.

While her husband had to brave the weather to take care of cattle and horses at the ranch, Adams said she stayed inside as much as possible. She said she has been going outside to feed her outdoor pets, giving them plenty of hot water to drink and making sure they had boxes filled with hay in which to sleep.

Despite the severe weather, the family has been doing all right, she said. “We’ve got food and we’ve got propane,” she said.

Senior Editor James Beaty and staff writers Rachel Petersen and Maggie Barber contributed to this article.