Small glazing covers Mid-Missouri

Cole County Public Works Road Superintendent Larry Bishop drives the front-end loader into the salt dome at the county's headquarters on Monticello Drive. Bishop operated the heavy equipment Friday morning, keeping up with trucks as they pulled in for refills. Crews were out by 6 a.m. to spread salt on the highways and beet juice on the overpasses and bridges.
Cole County Public Works Road Superintendent Larry Bishop drives the front-end loader into the salt dome at the county's headquarters on Monticello Drive. Bishop operated the heavy equipment Friday morning, keeping up with trucks as they pulled in for refills. Crews were out by 6 a.m. to spread salt on the highways and beet juice on the overpasses and bridges.

While the amount of rain and snow to hit Mid-Missouri was less than expected Friday, public works officials said they still faced plenty of challenges.

Starting Thursday evening and into Friday morning, schools across Central Missouri closed to keep students and staff off the roads.

The Office of Administration implemented its hazardous weather policy for state employees. The policy permits "the liberal use of an employee's leave for those individuals who choose to stay home or leave work early during times of inclement weather." The policy also states employees who provide critical services are expected to report to work.

In Jefferson City, City Hall also shut down as did the Missouri River Regional Library. Cole County government offices remained open as did the Cole County Courthouse. JeffTran buses also were in operation.

Not having as many people traveling did help first responders and road crews as few accidents were reported throughout the day Friday.

Britt Smith, Jefferson City operations division director, said their crews got in around 4:30 a.m. and got treatment down on the streets before the first round of sleet hit. They were able to stay ahead of the bad weather through the rest of the day.

"Temperatures didn't get quite as low as forecasted, and our pavement temperatures stayed in the mid-30s," Smith said.

Cole County Public Works Director Larry Benz said they got lucky compared to last week when his crews not only had to clear roads of snow but had to unclog storm drains and set up road barricades when flooding rains preceded 2-3 inches of snow.

"It seemed we go a lot more ice on the west side of the county, but overall, we didn't have a whole lot of issues," Benz said. "We were able to send our crews home late in the afternoon."

Benz's observation seemed to be confirmed by meteorologist Melissa Mainhart, of the National Weather Service in St. Louis. She said their office got reports of a quarter-inch of ice falling in locations to the west of Jefferson City.

"Most of the Jefferson City area appears to have gotten about a tenth of an inch of ice with this storm," Mainhart said. "The good news is that for the weekend and the first part of next week, we don't have any precipitation in the forecast. However, it will be quite cold, with high temperatures Sunday and Monday only in the 20s, which is 15-20 degrees below normal."