FIRST SNOWFALL OF SEASON HITS AREA; MORE MIGHT BE COMING TONIGHT

Monday's snow inspired Robert Holst to focus on snow-covered metal artwork behind the Art Building at Southeast Missouri State University.

The morning after the Christmas Parade of Lights, Cape Girardeans awoke to the first flurries of yet another herald of the season -- snow.

The Monday morning snowfall, which began slowly and eventually totalled .8 inch in Cape Girardeau, caused minor traffic accidents across Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois and shortened the school day for many students in rural areas.

A new storm moving in could bring more of the same to the region later today. Rain was expected to change to snow, with an 80 percent chance of precipitation.

Al Robertson, climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University, said the snowfall was the second of the season. The first was a light brushing of snow early in November.

Though most of Monday's snow fell in the morning, a winter weather advisory continued through the afternoon in Southeast Missouri. No serious accidents occurred but the Missouri Highway Patrol had an active morning.

"Everybody in Troop E was busy," a spokesman said. "It wasn't a pleasant experience this morning.

Before 8 a.m., Cape Girardeau public works personnel were out on the streets driving snow plows and spreading traction-improving materials.

Only a few accidents attributed to the snow occurred in the city Monday morning, Sgt. Carl Kinnison said.

The story was the same in Jackson, where warming temperatures cleared most of the streets by the afternoon. "We put out some cinders to aid traction," City Administrator Steve Wilson said.

The snow didn't stop a group of 4- and 5-year-olds at the Early Childhood Center, 1912 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, from taking a walking field trip to the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

"They loved every minute of it," said Donna Buehrle, the center's business manager.

Children at the center go outside every day except in inclement weather. "They don't consider this inclement weather," she said. "This was fun."

Only minor traffic accidents were reported in Southern Illinois. A spokesman for the Union County Sheriff's Department said the primary roads in the county were clear by Monday afternoon but some secondary roads remained slick.

"They're going to freeze pretty good tonight when the temperature drops," he predicted Monday afternoon.

Accumulations of 1 to 3 inches of snow were reported throughout most of the state. Two school buses slid off the road in separate Monday-morning accidents in the Springfield area. No one was injured.

The prediction of the season's first snow, a mild one, didn't bring the run on bread and milk that sometimes accompanies a storm, said Dennis Marchi, manager of Schnuck's grocery store. But it's now a well-established modern phenomenon.

"People nowadays don't stock up like they used to or their parents did," he explained. "They eat out more, and when they purchase groceries it's for a few days needs."

Whatever happens during the rest of the week and winter, Cape Girardeau Public Works Director Doug Leslie says the city will be ready.

"We have about 500 tons of salt stockpiled and about half that much of sand and salt mixed. So we are well prepared."