Winter Storm Blankets Southeast Missouri

Snow is now falling across Cape Girardeau as an arctic blast continues to push its way across region.
 
Cape Girardeau saw mainly freezing rain and sleet overnight. That switched over to snow earlier this morning.
 
Greg Meffert, the lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in Paducah, said overnight snow and sleet accumulation in Southeast Missouri has been variable.
 
“In Cape itself it’s been mainly sleet but there’s been up to a half an inch of that with some freezing rain mixed in at times so it’s kind of really crusty underneath,” Meffert said. “So if you’ve got that layer of ice with the snow falling on top of it, it’s not going to be a good situation.”
 
About an eighth of an inch of ice has been reported in rural Cape Girardeau county near Egypt Mills, and about 1/5 of an inch of freezing rain in Jackson.
 
Meffert said the freezing rain and sleet should be over now in Cape Girardeau, but expects snow to continue throughout the rest of the day.
 
“The heaviest precipitation is probably going to be late this morning into early this afternoon and then taping off my late in the day,” Meffert said. “We could see anywhere from 4 to 8 inches from this.”
 
Strong winds will accompany the significant snow fall and already accumulated ice and sleet. Travel will be very hazardous today and may become impossible. People who must travel should keep an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicle in case of an emergency.
 
Officials from the Missouri Department of Transportation are encouraging people to not travel today. MODOT’s online road condition map indicates most roads in southeastern Missouri are covered at this moment, including Interstate 55.
 
Ameren Missouri is reporting 2425 customers without power in Missouri’s Bootheel at of 7:38 a.m. Most of the outages are reported around Lilbourn, Clarkton and Portageville.
 
Schools are closed across the region, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson school districts and Southeast Missouri State University.