Dodging the bullet again

Cape Girardeau's good luck at avoiding winter storms continues, but St. Louis woke up to a nasty surprise this morning. A round of light freezing rain arrived out of the blue around 4 AM in St. Louis, coating bridges and overpasses in a glaze of black ice. This led to a 31-car pileup on Highway 40 near downtown, plus numerous other wrecks.

Temperatures are expected to warm into the 40s today and then the 50s tomorrow, setting the stage for heavy rain and thunderstorms. The latest computer model projections suggest that we could easily see 2-3 inches of rain tonight and Thursday.

Meanwhile, we're also at the edge of the Slight Risk zone for severe thunderstorms tomorrow, not far from the Moderate Risk area. It appears that the worst storms will remain in Arkansas, but that could change if the system turns to the north.

Another storm system on Monday could bring a second round of heavy rain and strong thunderstorms. Cape has only had 1.91 inches of rainfall so far this year, well below the pace of 6.01 inches for this date. We could actually use a good soaker.