The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a blizzard warning for far northwest Missouri, saying that accumulating blowing snow and strong winds will make travel extremely hazardous.
NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Brad Temeyer says the blizzard warning takes effect at midnight, and includes Maryville, Tarkio, Bethany and Craig.
“So basically for far northwestern Missouri, travel is going to be very difficult if not impossible,” Temeyer says.
The National Weather Service urges you to avoid any travel north of Highway 36 in northern Missouri from midnight until 6 p.m. on Friday. The blizzard warning area is expected to receive three to four inches of blowing snow, with strong winds.
The blizzard warning area includes heavily-traveled Interstates 29 and 35, which are used by truckers from across the nation.
“We’re looking at wind gusts probably of 40 to 45 miles an hour through at least much of the day tomorrow before that starts to let up. And you combine that with the snow that we’re expecting and it’s really going to make travel very, very difficult,” says Temeyer.
State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) crews will be working around the clock in northern Missouri, to get roads to mostly clear within a few hours after the blizzard ends. Whiteout conditions are possible.
Northern Missouri’s St. Joseph, Chillicothe and Kirksville are under a winter weather advisory, and those areas should receive two to three inches of snow.
“This is going to be a type of system where if you don’t have to travel, it’s best to get those errands and everything done ahead of time. Because once the snow starts, it’s just going to make visibility very difficult,” Temeyer says.
The NWS says the heaviest snowfall will be between 3 am and 3 pm on Friday.
Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Brad Temeyer, which was recorded on January 14, 2021:
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