Deep freeze

A winter storm blamed for at least one traffic death should linger into the mid-morning hours before ending as light snow.

Nearly 400 people were without power in the AmerenUE service areas of Southeast Missouri early Monday evening, most centered in the Cape Girardeau area. Many of those without electricity had power back by 7 p.m. Some portions of Jackson reported a power outage for about 45 minutes as a result of a tree limb on power lines.

Most area schools closed early. Cape Girardeau School District is closed today and Southeast Missouri State University, which sent students back to their residence halls at 11 a.m. Monday, planned to start classes today at 12:30 p.m.

The storm also closed some businesses and many government offices throughout the region and prompted a warning from both the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Cape Girardeau emergency operations coordinator Mark Hasheider for residents to stay home.

"I urge people not to be on the roads unless they just have to be," said patrol Sgt. Dale Moreland of the Troop E headquarters in Poplar Bluff. Mo. "Madison County is near impassable. We haven't had a chance to do anything but answer the phone and dispatch officers."

An updated winter storm warning issued late Monday afternoon by the National Weather Service for most of Southeast Missouri and all of Southern Illinois was extended until noon today. Forecast discussions on the Paducah, Ky., weather service Web site showed that forecasters were unsure exactly when the precipitation would end.

"It looks like it is going to continue through the night," forecaster Pat Spoden said. "There could be some snow mixed in at the end, and it might hold on until 8 or 9 in the morning."

The storm was blamed for the death of Joshua K. Holshouser, 32, of Scott City, who was ejected from a pickup truck that overturned as it slid off northbound on Interstate 55 near New Madrid, Mo.

Stocking up, staying put

The icy rain didn't deter everyone from visiting area stores for supplies as they prepared for the drive home.

Bi-State Southern Oil Co. store manager Christy Stevens said demand was high for hot food, fuel, de-icer and scrapers Monday at the station at 612 S. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau. "We sold out of scrapers right away," she said.

Stevens said parents were also buying hot food to feed their children, who had been let out of school early.

But others quickly finished their errands and scurried home to wait out the storm. Jackson resident Anna Marie Neely was downtown Monday morning getting her car worked on before the storm hit. The retiree drove home around 10:30 a.m. as ice began to fall. "I drove real slow through it," she said. "I love this car. I didn't want any dents."

Neely said the sleet continued into the afternoon and was accompanied by claps of thunder. She didn't plan on leaving home again Monday. "I'm going to stay right here where it's nice and warm and high and dry," she said.

The Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority stopped the city bus route at 2 p.m. The authority continued taxi service, but screened trips to make sure drivers were not unnecessarily endangered.

"I'm going to do what I have to do get people back and forth," said Tom Mogelnicki, the transit authority's executive director. "We'll probably be limiting our rides to hospital, grocery, pharmacy and doctors' offices. Necessary trips."

Working on roads

By 4 p.m., unofficial measurements reported 1 inch of ice accumulated in Cape Girardeau and about 1 1/2 inches on the ground in Jackson.

Cape Girardeau city workers struggled to keep up with the heavy accumulations as thunder rumbled through downtown several times in the afternoon and sleet pellets ranging in size from bird seed to fish eggs covered the city in a white crust.

Street crews focused on keeping main roads open, sad Tim Gramling, director of public works. Secondary roads and residential streets were in pretty bad shape, he said. "We haven't had the opportunity to get on those much. Some are pretty packed with ice."

As the sleet changed to rain as the evening progressed, crews also contended with blocked storm drains, Gramling said.

Workers will continue to plow streets and apply salt throughout the night, working in two shifts and switching off through this morning, he said.

Little let up

The heaviest band of ice, according to the weather service radar, fell from about Marble Hill, Mo., through Jackson and across the Mississippi River along the Illinois Highway 13 corridor. At 7 p.m. Monday, significant precipitation, all moving to the east-northeast, remained on the radar out to the west as far as Tulsa, Okla.

Most of the individual cells of precipitation were moving along a stationary front that won't begin moving until the morning hours, Spoden said.

Over the course of the afternoon, alternating layers of freezing rain and sleet combined to create a thick crust. By 9 p.m., a total of 1.05 inches of melted precipitation had fallen at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport since the storm began in the mid-morning hours.

With radar indicating significant precipitation extending to Springfield, Mo., and to the west, there should be little let up, Smith said. "The critical time is going to be today and especially through midnight."

To assist with potential power outages, AmerenUE dispatched a 53-foot trailer equipped with materials ranging from wire and crossarms to computers to be stationed at the Osage Community Centre.

Public workers

The U.S. Postal Service in Cape Girardeau said there had been no disruption of service and managers did not anticipate any cancellations of service, said Dan Strauss, manager of customer service. The last time mail was not delivered in Cape Girardeau occurred in 1997 after another major ice storm.

"It has been about what you can imagine," Strauss said. "It has been pretty hectic."

The post office will not suspend service unless the city police or the Missouri State Highway Patrol announce it is not safe to be on the streets, Strauss said.

"We very seldom curtail deliveries," he said. "It is kind of ingrained with us."

Cape Girardeau County supervisors sent nonessential employees home at 11 a.m. Monday. Grassy, Mo., residents Laura and Mike Liley, both county workers, said a drive home that usually takes 45 minutes to an hour took an hour and a half. "It sleeted the entire time," she said.

They had to stop every 10 miles to remove ice from their wipers, they said.

The only problem they encountered was getting up the hill to their house.

Though their sport utility vehicle has all-wheel drive, Mike Liley said he had to get out of the car to push.

All county employees are off today for President Lincoln's birthday. Laura Liley said she plans to spend the day sewing. She expects Mike will go out in the woods. "He might be varmint calling," she said.

Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell missed Monday morning's commission meeting because his father was having eye surgery. Purcell drove him home. "He lives in the boonies," Purcell said. "It's so bad out I had to stop and buy cheap boots at Kmart so I could walk him from the car to his home."

At the Sav-A-Lot grocery store at the corner of William and Sprigg streets in Cape Girardeau, some people stocked up as usual on bread, milk and coffee. Assistant manager Shelia Prater said many customers came in by taxi. She was waiting to hear from the manager about whether to close the store. Three employees had been unable to come in.

Customer Billy Wade came in just to pick up a couple of items. He said he doesn't need to stock up for a storm. "I plan for days like this. If it caught me I'd be OK."

Janie and Doug Hinkle were about to load their boxes of food into their car for the trip back to Chaffee, Mo., after making their regular run to Cape Girardeau for groceries.

As they prepared for the return trip, Janie Hinkle promised to be careful: "We'll be driving real slow."

Southeast Missourian staff writers Sam Blackwell, Bridget DiCosmo and Peg McNichol contributed to this report.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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