Light snow dampens area roads

Light snow fell intermittently over much of Southeast Missouri on Saturday, the same week that saw temperatures above 70 in Cape Girardeau.

Saturday's snowfall was seen in isolated spots from Southeast Missouri to Southern Illinois to western Kentucky but reached only trace amounts in the region, said David Umphrey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky.

In Cape Girardeau, temperatures were too warm for any accumulation, hovering in the upper 30s, according to National Weather Service measurements taken at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Instead the light snow that fell simply dampened roads, causing no adverse effects on traffic. Clouds covered the area throughout the day.

Temperatures are expected to reach into the 50s today, warming up from the 30s of Saturday. The National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures to climb into the 60s Monday, but the rise in temperature will bring with it a strong chance of thunderstorms that is expected to last into Tuesday. A slight chance of thunderstorms will hang around Wednesday, when high temperatures will be near 70 degrees.

Umphrey said temperature swings and light snow are nothing unusual for mid-March, a time when weather patterns are in transition between seasons.

"You can get nice weather in March, with temperatures above normal, then you can get that touch of winter," Umphrey said. "This would hold true into April, as well."

Umphrey said Saturday's snow was caused by an upper-level disturbance that entered the region from the northwest. Areas farther north, starting along a line from St. Louis to Columbia, received slightly more snow, but the National Weather Service reported no measurable snowfall on its Web site.

msanders@semissourian.com

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