Dangerous winter blizzard gripping Mid-Missouri

A dangerous winter storm produced huge amounts of snow across most of Central Missouri today, with snowfall expected to continue until sometime Wednesday morning. Even after the snow stops falling, heavy winds will continue to cause hazards from blowing and drifting snow.

The terrible weather conditions will continue to make travel unadvisable, and numerous schools around the area have canceled classes for another day on Wednesday. See the "additional resources" links at the bottom of this weather report for more weather-related information, such as live radar, road reports and school closings.

Snowfall is forecast to total around 20 inches by Wednesday morning.

The National Weather Service issued the following statement about the winter storm:

MAJOR WINTER STORM CONTINUES OVER REGION...

VERY HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS BEFORE DIMINISHING AFTER MIDNIGHT.

WINDS GUSTS WILL BE NEAR 40 MPH AT TIMES CAUSING BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO AT TIMES.

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST WEDNESDAY...

  • TIMING...SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO BE MODERATE TO HEAVY THIS EVENING ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THE MIX OF SNOW AND SLEET WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW OVER EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS EARLY THIS EVENING.
  • ACCUMULATIONS...TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE AROUND 8 INCHES IN THE ST. LOUIS METRO AREA TO 20 INCHES OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS.
  • WINDS...NORTH TO NORTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL GUST TO 40 MPH TONIGHT. THE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH ON WEDNESDAY.
  • IMPACTS...EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS ROAD CONDITIONS FROM THE HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATION AND EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL CAUSE TREACHEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS INTO THURSDAY. THE WINDS WILL CAUSE THE SNOW DRIFT SEVERAL FEET DEEP WITH VISIBILITIES BELOW 1/4 MILE AT TIMES IN BLOWING SNOW.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OR FREQUENT GUSTS OF OVER 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED FOR SEVERAL HOURS WITH CONSIDERABLE FALLING AND/OR BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. VISIBILITIES WILL BECOME POOR...WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THOSE VENTURING OUTDOORS MAY BECOME LOST OR DISORIENTED...SO PERSONS IN THE WARNING AREA ARE ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS.

Additional Weather Resources:

Weather-related announcements, closings for Wed., Feb. 2, 2011

Local Forecast, Current Conditions

Area Radar, Severe Weather Statements

Video Weather Report for Central Missouri

Missouri Highway Travel Map

Ameren Missouri Power Outage Status