FRIGID WEATHER HITS AREA; FRONT BRINGS SNOW, RECORD LOW TEMPS

Button up! The "Yukon Express" has arrived in Southeast Missouri.

The National Weather Service said the unseasonably, bitter cold air was likely to produce alltime record, or near record low temperatures through the entire state this morning.

With much of the northern half of the state under a blanket of snow, lows today were expected to drop to minus five degrees in the northwest part of the state, and to the low 20s in Southeast Missouri.

Highs this afternoon were not expected to get out of the 20s in northern Missouri, and in the lower 40s in Southeast Missouri.

Saturday will bring slightly warmer temperatures, with the highs in the lower 50s.

Officials with the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri advised that people who have pets outdoors should make sure they have shelter and bedding to protect them from the wind and cold. Officials also pointed out that with subfreezing temperatures during the day, it will be necessary for pet owners to check on their pets' water supply more often.

As bitter cold invaded the state Thursday, temperatures continued to fall after daybreak. At 11 a.m. Thursday, St. Joseph reported 11 degrees, while it was 9 degrees at the same hour in Kirksville.

Throughout the day Thursday, the temperature at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport continued to slide from 40 degrees at midnight to 32 degrees at 6 a.m. By 9 a.m., it had dropped to 29 degrees. It bottomed out at 26 degrees at noon, then rose to 28 degrees at 2 p.m. At 5 p.m., it was 26 degrees.

Forecaster Joe Pedigo, at the weather service forecast office in St. Charles, said the very cold air will send the wind chill down to or below zero in most of the state today.

"We have a good shot at breaking the all-time record lows in the state Friday morning," Pedigo said Thursday.

The record low for this date at Cape Girardeau, 17 degrees, was set in 1951. The record low for Nov. 9 is 22 degrees, set in 1961. Sunday's record low, 21 degrees, was set in 1960, and tied in 1973.

"We're advising extreme caution for young children and elderly adults who will be out in the cold today. For children waiting for the school bus, make sure they have warm clothing, gloves and a hat or cap to protect them," said Pedigo.

He said the greatest health danger is frostbite due to prolonged exposure to the cold.

The second major outbreak of unseasonably cold air in a week comes on the heels of a snowstorm that swept across the central and northeastern part of the state Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Pedigo said the 2- to 6-inch snowfall in the state was the most significant in 40 years. The snow was in a band north of a line from 60 miles south of Kansas City to 90 miles south of St. Louis.

The greatest snow depths included 6.5 inches at Madison, near Columbia, and 6 inches at Paris, 30 miles southwest of Hannibal.

Other snow amounts included: five inches at Columbia, 4.7 inches at St. Joseph, 3.9 inches at LambertSt. Louis International Airport, 2 inches at Ste. Genevieve and Springfield, and 2-3 inches in the Kansas City area.

Springfield, Ill., had 2 inches, while Decatur, Ill., reported 3 inches.

Pedigo said the snow was caused by a fast-moving low pressure center that developed Thursday over the Great Plains and moved southeastward through central Arkansas and up the Ohio River Valley.

Pedigo said the bitterly cold air that now covers much of the central United States originated in the Yukon area of the Northwest Territory of Canada. "Normally, we do not see this severe cold until mid-January," he said. "But during most of October, a strong high pressure ridge blocked the movement of the arctic air into the United States. So the very cold air continued to build up until the dam finally broke on Halloween.

"Normally, we see about three or four cold fronts from Canada move through the state during October. This allows some of the very cold air up there to moderate a little. But it didn't happen last month. The cold air continued to be held back until the high pressure ridge finally broke down. When that happened, the `Yukon Express' was on its way south," Pedigo said.