Ice coats Stoddard County, but causes no serious accidents

STODDARD COUNTY, Mo. -- Emergency responders were called to a rash of minor accidents in the early morning hours of Tuesday, as motorists ventured out onto a solid sheet of ice in the area.

Unsuspecting motorists found travel difficult on both major and secondary roadways in the county as a blanket of "black ice" sent travelers into ditches and off the highways across Stoddard County.

Temperatures hovered in the mid to upper 20s in the area, with freezing precipitation. The high later in the day is expected to reach 40 degrees.

While schools in the county were already closed for the holiday break, additional closings, including the O.A.K.S. Senior Center, Crowley Ridge School and the Stoddard County Sheltered Workshop, announced closings before 7 a.m. as ice was forming on roadways.

At press time, no serious injuries were known to have occurred from accidents within the county.