Missourians battle deep freeze

Winter had Missouri in its icy grip Thursday, forcing school cancellations, filling homeless shelters and putting car batteries to the test amid sub-zero wind chills and lingering snow in many areas. Authorities have blamed the weather in at least three deaths.

Forecasters offered a warmer outlook, expecting highs near 50 "for a good portion of next week," National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pedigo said.

"That's a little more palatable to most people," he said from his office in St. Louis, where the temperature Thursday morning was just 2 degrees -- with a biting wind chill of minus 17 to 19 -- the coldest day this winter. On Dec. 26, St. Louis-area temperatures dipped to 11 degrees.

Throughout Missouri, temperatures Thursday morning were near zero -- with wind chills plunging to as low as 24 below -- before rising modestly later in the day. In Springfield, the sign in front of a Great Southern Bank read 0 degrees at 7:15 a.m.; five hours later, it was up to just 8 degrees.

Authorities blamed the weather in Wednesday's deaths of a Franklin County man and woman killed when their van skidded off a snow-slickened stretch of Interstate 44 in Eureka and went over a bluff.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, a Bowling Green woman was killed when the car she was driving slid off of U.S. 61 in Lincoln County while passing another vehicle, then struck a concrete culvert, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Around Kansas City, officials said shelters were either at or over capacity with the homeless seeking refuge from the bitter cold. The weather service said wind chills of 20 degrees below can cause frostbite within 25 to 30 minutes.

About 230 people stayed in the City Union Mission men's shelter in Kansas City overnight Thursday -- the largest number this year, said Royce Englehart, the shelter's statistician. The shelter's 95 beds were in use, with others sleeping on cots and mats, using donated blankets for warmth.

"They're just glad to get in out of the cold," Englehart said. "It's life-threatening when it's that cold."