Southeast Missouri remains under a winter weather advisory until midnight Sunday morning with 2-5 inches of snow possible. Springfield is under a winter weather warning until 6 p.m. Saturday with snow accumulation likely. Most of Missouri is experiencing gusty wind and falling temperatures. Lows in the teens and single digits are likely across the state Saturday night. Highs Sunday will be in the teens and twenties.
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The winter storm making its way across Missouri won’t dump as much snow in most parts of the state as last weekend’s historical weather event. However, there’ll be impressive totals in the northern part of the state just the same.
Image courtesy of the National Weather Service
A band surrounding Bethany in northwest Missouri which includes the majority of five counties should receive 8-12 inches of snow. Those counties are Nodaway, Andrew, Gentry, Harrison, and Grundy.
6-8 inches is expected across most of the rest of northern Missouri which will include the cities of St. Joseph, Chillicothe, and Kirksville. A band stretching through the northern part of mid-Missouri to the northeastern part of the state, including Moberly, Hannibal, and Burlington will see 4-6 inches.
A section of mid-Missouri extending across the state from Kansas City through Columbia and Jefferson City over to St. Louis should receive 2-4 inches while totals of 1-2 inches or less are projected for the rest of the state.
A major concern is that the storm could leave icy roads by Saturday when temperatures will plummet. Jenni Coleman with the National Weather Service in Kansas City says the rain that comes before the snow will leave wet roads. “When the cold temperature moves in on Saturday I think that could pretty hazardous and pretty slick quickly, said Coleman.
The Missouri Department of Transportation notes the chemicals it’s using to treat the roads lose their effectiveness below 25 degrees. High temperatures in the 20s and 30s in mid and northern Missouri Saturday will to 10 or lower Saturday night. Wind chills could drop below zero in some locations as gusts up to 35 miles per hour ar possible.
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Another weekend, another dump of snow in Missouri. After last weekend’s storm that left historically heavy accumulations of snow in the central portion of the state, the next winter weather event will be comparatively minor.
Image courtesy of the National Weather Service
While some areas in mid-Missouri reported 20 inches of snow by last Sunday, the heaviest accumulations in this weekend’s storm will be in the far north central and northeastern part of the state, where 6-8 inches could fall.
It’ll move across the state from west to east. But meteorologist Spencer Mell with the National Weather Service in Kansas City says there’ll be a sharp cutoff point where snow accumulations significantly drop. “There’s going to be a fine line somewhere along the Highway 70 corridor where we see those heavier amounts to much lesser amounts further south,” said Mell. “So, there’s going to be a pretty sharp delineation between the heavy snowfall and the lighter snowfall amounts.”
Most of northern Missouri is projected to receive 4-6 inches of snow during the storm. The central portion should see 2-3 inches while 1-2 inches is expected in southern Missouri. Southwestern areas, including Joplin, could see less than an inch of snow.
The storm will hit the northwestern portion of the state as early as noon Friday while the rest of Missouri will see snow later on into the afternoon and nighttime hours. Snowfall will exit the Kansas City area by 9 a.m. Saturday and as late as 6 p.m. moving east toward St. Louis. Winds will increase out of the north with gusts of 30-35 mph Saturday.
Mell says driving could be hazardous in the early stages of the storm because rain will precede snow. “We will see a lot of that rain flash freeze on the roadways, so there could be a layer of ice underneath the snowfall that comes later,” Mell said.
Behind the snow, temperatures are expected to drop significantly with wind chills in the single digits or lower through Sunday in many areas of the state. The Missouri Department of Transportation notes the chemicals it’s using to treat the roads lose their effectiveness below 25 degrees.
Mell says there should be ample time to clear the roadways in and around Kansas City before the Chiefs playoff game Sunday evening. But he says those attending the game will have to brave the elements. “It is going to awfully cold, so make sure that you wear your warmest attire that you do have,” said Mell.
