Jefferson City residents awoke Tuesday to the sounds of snow plows and school cancellations. By the end of the day, there were more cancellations and a forecast for more snow.
Jefferson City got about 5 inches of snow, and flurries continued through much of Tuesday. By 4:30 p.m., the public schools had announced they would be closed today because of poor road conditions.
The National Weather Service in St. Louis expects bitterly cold temperatures today, with temperatures rising to the mid-20s on Thursday and the low 30s Friday. A 30 percent chance of snow was expected Saturday night.
The snow also affected trash service. Allied Waste made the decision early Tuesday morning not to collect trash that day, manager Rick Graham said. "We can't fight Mother Nature," he said.
Tuesday's trash removal will take place today, and all remaining days this week will be delayed by a day. Friday routes will be picked up on Saturday, which the company uses as a "catch-up" day when inclement weather or holidays cancel pickup during a weekday.
"We have to make a call early, we can't wait until 8 o'clock, because we start at 5 or 6 in the morning," Graham said. "We prefer there not be an accident, so we decided it would be wiser to push truck routes back by a day."
Graham said that if trucks can't get to individual residences because of the roads, the company will work with residents the following week to collect whatever trash they have then.
Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, based in Tipton, is calling for a peak alert for its customers from 6 to 9 a.m. today and Thursday as cold temperatures put a higher demand on the system.
Peak alerts are not a notice of a power shortage. They are a load-management effort used to reduce the demand for electricity and keep members' cost of power as low as possible.
Peak alert times are temperature dependent. As the temperature gets very hot or cold, the likelihood for a peak alert increases.
Ken Johnson, general manager/CEO of Co-Mo Electric, said members should do things such as lower their thermostat three degrees in the winter to help curb the demand for electricity.
Resources:
Area School Closings & Other Cancellations for Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011
Local Forecast, Current Conditions
Area Radar, Weather Statements