The National Weather Service says most Missourians should expect some snow on Christmas Eve.
Matthew Dux with the National Weather Service in Kansas City says the good news is the storm isn’t expected to produce much ice, and also not quite as much snow as originally thought.
“It has weakened a little bit. However, we’re still expecting some accumulating snow across the (state) for Christmas Eve. We’re not looking at a major winter storm anymore, but most of the area should be able to see one to three inches of snow,” Dux said.
Dux expects the snow to start just after midnight on Thursday, and says it is such a fast-moving storm that he expects the storm to be entirely clear of Missouri by midnight of Friday.
“Christmas Day does look to be dry at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few flurries flying around on Christmas. But overall the accumulating snow should be mainly during the daytime hours (on Friday),” Dux said.
Dux says the northern half of the state will likely see heavier snowfall than areas further south, but expects almost the entire state to see some accumulation.
“Further south toward Branson, Springfield areas could be a little bit of a mixture of rain, snow sleet. Pretty much a mixed bag of precipitation, although the snowfall accumulations in southern Missouri are going to be much lighter than they are up north,” Dux said.
He says one piece of good news for drivers is that ice may not be much of a factor in the storm.
“I think the icing will be pretty low. We’re actually going to have some pretty seasonable temperatures for Friday. Readings in most areas will probable climb toward the freezing mark, maybe even a little above the 32 degree mark. So most of the icing that would occur, if it does happen, would be on trees and sidewalks and those types of surfaces. The roadways, at this point, should be warm enough to not have too many major complications,” Dux said.
Dux recommends travelers check the NOAA website for the latest conditions before traveling. Follow this link to search for weather information for Missouri.
