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A winter weather advisory remains in effect through noon today and most areas can expect a rain/snow mix today and snow tonight into Friday. The National Weather Service says it will be hard to project “the exact wintry precipitation types, transitions, and overall accumulations of snow, sleet, and ice” because of fluctuations in temperature.
Snowfall for western Missouri through Friday night:
Snowfall for eastern Missouri through Friday night:
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of Missouri.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of Missouri (January 22, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)
Wednesday and Wednesday night’s heaviest snowfall will be across northern Missouri, with towns like Maryville, Bethany and Trenton expected to receive three to four inches.
Reporter Jeremy Shields at Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN reports there has been snow, blowing snow and sleet in northwest Missouri this morning.
Reporter Tom Tingerthal at Missourinet Chillicothe affiliate KCHI reports there is already about an inch-and-a-half of snow on the ground there, as of this afternoon. Tingerthal also notes many school districts across northwest Missouri have not been in session this week. Classes are expected to be canceled on Thursday as well, due to the winter storm.
Towns located near and along the I-70 corridor should see one to three inches of snow. They include Kansas City, Clinton, Sedalia and Columbia.
The NWS warns hazardous driving conditions will continue into this evening, and that untreated and rural roads will be very slick.
The NWS is urging you to slow down, and to give yourself extra time on the road.
The snow is also impacting legislative work at the Missouri Capitol.
The Missouri Senate has adjourned until next week. Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, tweeted today, urging lawmakers and residents to stay safe as they travel to every corner in the state.
The House will also not be in session on Thursday. Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, tells Missourinet they will have a technical session, which simply requires one member to gavel-in and out.
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The National Weather Service (NWS) says the highest snow totals from Monday’s winter storm extend from the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit to Sedalia.
The National Weather Service is urging motorists to slow down in the snow (January 20, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)
NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins says while snow is ending north of the Missouri River, it’s still snowing in many locations across western, west-central and mid-Missouri.
“We’re seeing the Kansas City area over to Warrensburg and Sedalia into Columbia, Jefferson City and again down into the Lake of the Ozarks and over west in Clinton,” Adkins says.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol also says highways in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in the Kansas City metro have been slick, because of snow. Blowing snow has also been causing visibility issues.
Meantime, the Highway Patrol says about a dozen vehicles are involved in several snow-related crashes on westbound I-70 near mid-Missouri’s Rocheport. Several tractor trailers are involved, and westbound I-70 is closed there.
The I-70 Rocheport bridge is heavily-traveled. U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, has said more than 12 million vehicles cross the bridge annually, including three million trucks.
Rocheport is just west of Columbia.
As for Adkins, she’s urging motorists to slow down and to give themselves extra time.
“It is accumulating on the roadways and that is going to make them slick,” says Adkins. “So while we don’t anticipate multiple inches of snow, still take it easy. It’s going to be slick.”
Some areas have received an inch of snowfall. Missouri state troopers are urging you to stay focused on the road.
Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins, which was recorded on January 20, 2020:
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Ameren Missouri employees are hard at work during the winter storm system hitting the Show-Me State. Mike Lewis, superintendent of reliability and support services for Ameren, says workers have been preparing for the ice and snow for the past few days.
Ameren workers fixing power problems caused by ice and snow
“We’ve had a fair amount of experience at this lately,” he says. “So our preparation protocol is getting a lot of practice this year. We just had a very similar situation last Friday, I believe it was.”
Lewis says the electric company is ramping up staffing levels for this storm.
“This does not look like this event particularly is going to cause us a lot of problems,” says Lewis. “But there will be likely some scattered issues – up to a quarter of an inch of ice plus wind on top of that – will cause a few outages. They won’t be widespread. They probably won’t be all that numerous, but we want to be ready to respond with people and property when that happens. The weight of the conductors – once they get laden down with ice and then the weight of tree limbs on top of conductors – can be a real problem for us to be able to put those back in the air. So, I would say an overall ice event does add some time to the restoration process just because it slows travel and it makes it more difficult to get the lines back up.”
Lewis reminds Missourians to be careful.
“First and foremost is, do not approach a downed power line, especially one that’s covered with ice,” says Lewis. “That ice can actually work as an insulator and keep an energized line energized, even though it’s laying down on the ground.”
He says employees will be working in some rough conditions.
“Imagine trying to wear enough clothes to stay warm when the temperatures drop down to single digits or below zero and then doing all that physical work that has to be done to clear trees, set poles, string lines,” he says. “Plus the additional hazards of things falling from trees, tree limbs breaking off due to the weight of the ice.”
Ameren serves 1.2 million customers in 64 Missouri counties and spans the St. Louis metro area and parts of northeast, northwest, southeast and central Missouri.
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Law enforcement officials in northern Missouri’s Harrison County are asking residents and travelers to stay off the roads there, until heavy freezing rain and sleet stops.
A Missouri state trooper assists a motorist who slid off the road in mid-Missouri on January 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of MSHP Troop F Twitter)
National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey notes heavily-traveled I-35 runs through Harrison County.
“Lots of slide offs, lots of accidents there and Harrison County has actually put out a request for people not to travel,” Bailey says.
Harrison County is located on the Missouri-Iowa border. Impacted towns include Bethany, Brooklyn and Gilman City.
The freezing rain also caused conditions to deteriorate Friday morning on I-35 between Cameron and Kearney. Reporter Jeremy Shields from Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) reports he saw five tractor trailers jackknife this morning in that area. Shields says truck drivers struggled in the ice.
The NWS warns that road conditions across northern Missouri will be treacherous throughout the afternoon, because of heavy freezing rain and sleet. Bailey is urging motorists to stay off the road, if possible.
“If it is still snowing in northeast Missouri, that will probably change in the coming hours as that warm air overspreads the area turning things over to freezing rain up there,” says Bailey.
Freezing rain has also been happening in Trenton today.
As for mid-Missouri, Bailey says temperatures in Jefferson City and Columbia will stay at or below freezing until about 5 p.m., when they are expected to go above freezing. He emphasizes that one degree is critical.
Ice has been reported across central Missouri today, including Jefferson City, Columbia and Boonville.
Bailey also says overpasses and side streets were problematic earlier today in the Kansas City metro. A Lee’s Summit fire truck overturned this morning.
Meantime, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield has issued a flood watch through Saturday morning, across the Ozarks. Impacted towns include Springfield, Branson and Lebanon.
More than an inch of additional rainfall is possible tonight, into Saturday.
Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey, which was recorded on January 17, 2020:
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Missouri Transportation Department crews will be out in full force today statewide to battle road conditions from a winter storm system. Todd Miller with MoDOT says plow drivers have been preparing for bad weather and will be working hard during the winter front.
A Missouri Department of Transportation snow plow (2018 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)
“We have over 1,500 plow trucks and we have almost 3,400 operators to operate those plow trucks. We can operate them in 12 hours shifts for a 24 hour response to this event,” he says.
Miller says the weather event will be challenging for road crews and drivers need to travel very carefully.
“It is going to switch from snow to freezing rain. Some chemicals we have down may not last,” he says. “You can’t be everywhere at once. We have 77,000 lane miles of roads that we take care of.”
The system is expected to move from southwest to northeast Missouri, bringing snow and ice to northern, west-central, western and southwest Missouri.
Check out MoDOT’s traveler information map for the latest road conditions.
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The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter weather advisory for northern, west-central, western and southwest Missouri.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has updated their forecast for January 17, 2020 (map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)
NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says Kansas City, St. Joseph, Sedalia, Columbia and Jefferson City will see snow and ice on Friday.
“What we’re looking at is a wintry mess out there and really it’s going to be a transition of precipitation types throughout this whole event,” Blair says.
He says the storm system will be moving from southwest to northeast Missouri.
The storm is expected to begin Friday morning in the 3-8 a.m. time frame. Blair tells Missourinet that Friday’s morning and evening commutes will be hazardous for Kansas City, Warrensburg, Columbia and Osage Beach.
“What we’re going to be seeing is snowfall starting out in these places Friday morning,” says Blair. “And as a little bit warmer weather moves into the area we’ll see that precipitation type change to a little bit of sleet and then eventually some freezing rain,” says Blair.
Springfield, Lebanon, Rolla and West Plains are also expected to see ice on Friday.
The Highway 63 corridor will see the heaviest amounts of ice, with up to a quarter-of-an-inch expected in Jefferson City, Columbia and Kirksville. Far western Missouri’s Butler and Nevada could also see up to a quarter-of-an-inch of ice.
The NWS says northwest Missouri will see the heaviest snowfall on Friday, with more than three inches expected in Maryville and Bethany.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on January 16, 2020:
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At least 30 school districts across northern Missouri dismissed classes early Friday afternoon, to get students home before roads deteriorate during a major winter storm.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has updated the timing of the winter storm that will impact much of Missouri (January 10, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Twitter)
The National Weather Service (NWS) says freezing rain has started in northwest Missouri, part of a winter storm system that will impact much of the state this weekend. State transportation officials say roads in northwest Missouri are already covered or partially covered in snow or ice.
NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says the complicated system is bringing a combination of sleet and snow to far northwest Missouri.
“What we have ongoing right now is some freezing rain and that is going to cause quite a lot of problems as we continue on in the afternoon hours through those evening hour time frames,” Blair says.
Maryville and Bethany are expected to see five to eight inches of snow.
Mr. Blair says a line stretching from Kansas City to Chillicothe to Kirksville should see rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow.
“And as that colder air arrives after sunset we will start seeing that potential for both freezing rain and then eventually sleet to move into the area,” says Blair.
Four to six inches of snow are expected in Chillicothe and St. Joseph. Cities like Columbia and Moberly could see up to a quarter-of-an-inch of ice. Jefferson City could see some ice as well.
The NWS and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) are also warning you to be on the alert for refreezing of roads Saturday night into Sunday morning, across central, northern and western Missouri. Blair urges you to be cautious.
“The key point takeaway is don’t worry so much about the exact amount of snow forecast,” Blair says. “Just remember that this is going to be a combination of both a glaze of ice, followed by snow on top of that.”
Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) reports more than 25 schools in northwest and north-central Missouri are dismissing early today. They include the St. Joseph, Gallatin and Princeton School Districts. Our Moberly affiliate KWIX (AM 1230) reports four districts have dismissed early in their listening area, including the Green City and Milan School Districts.
The NWS says a flash flood watch is in effect for southern and central Missouri, including Columbia and Springfield.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on January 10, 2020:
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National Weather Service, St. Louis
A wet winter storm will move through Missouri over the next few days. A rare, winter flash flood watch is in effect for mid, eastern and southwest Missouri.
The National Weather Service, St. Louis office says the two main threats with the first wave of rain will be flash flooding and river flooding.
Friday night into Saturday, the rain will transition to snow and ice over central and northeast Missouri.
Heavy rainfall could pound Missouri starting Thursday
Heavy rainfall could be in store for the Show-Me State starting Thursday and ending early Saturday. The National Weather Service says the heaviest rainfall is expected from Friday night into Saturday morning.
Western and northwest Missouri could also be facing colder temps and some ice, possibly making road travel somewhat tricky.
Rain predictions include 2-3 inches in Rolla, Columbia and Jefferson City, 3-4 inches in St. Louis, and 4-6 inches possible in Cape Girardeau and southeast Missouri. River flooding in some areas could also occur.
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