Forecasted snow envelopes Southeast Missouri; 4 inches covers much of region

Officials with the National Weather Service were spot on in their forecasts for a winter storm enveloping Southeast Missouri.

Thursday, Jan. 9, Justin Gibbs of the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Kentucky, said models and observed conditions pointed to a storm, beginning early Friday morning and continuing throughout Friday, Jan. 10, that would dump an average of 4 to 6 inches of snow in the region, with local totals perhaps reaching 7 inches.

“Four or more inches of snow is very likely” throughout Southeast Missouri, he said. “We have higher confidence than normal that this is going to be a substantial storm for everybody across the area.”

As of 3 p.m. Friday, observation posts from around the region reported snowfall totals of around 4 inches, with snow continuing to fall. Cape Girardeau reported 4.5 inches, while Poplar Bluff and Dexter reported 4 inches. Jackson received 3.5 inches, while Fredericktown and Perryville received 5.5 inches. East Prairie reported 6 inches. Several locations west of Poplar Bluff reported snowfall of 6 to 8 inches.

The falling snow would be somewhat unusual for the region, Gibbs said, because low temperatures already in place would make the snow drier than normal. The lighter-weight snow would likely not produce many power outages, he noted.

“But there is some concern about wet snow adding weight to power lines and trees,” he said.

Ameren Missouri reported 145 customers without power as of 3:30 p.m. All of those were near Fredericktown. SEMO Electric Cooperative, which serves an area from north of Jackson south to New Madrid and from Wayne County in the west to the Mississippi River in the east, reported no outages at the time. Ozark Border Electric Co., centered in Poplar Bluff, also reported no outages Friday morning. However, Citizens Electric Corp., which serves customers from Cape Girardeau in the south to nearly Festus in the north, reported 3,132 customers without power as of 3:30 p.m. Friday. Most of those — 2,666 — were in Perry County, and 162 were in Cape Girardeau. Black River Electric Cooperative reported several hundred customers without power in its coverage counties, including Cape Girardeau, 388, and Bollinger, 376.

Gibbs said temperatures will not rise much above freezing for several days, which will lead to only gradual melting. He said melting that occurs during daytime will refreeze at night, leading to travel difficulties.

“A winter weather advisory is inconvenient. A winter storm is a big deal,” he said. “We advise against any unnecessary travel.”

For more information about the storm, visit NWS for forecast information and road conditions or Missouri Department of Transportation or through the MoDOT app for road conditions.