More than foot of snow likely in parts of Missouri, Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A winter storm set to move across the country this week could drop more than a foot of snow in parts of Missouri and Kansas and, more ominously, coat trees and power lines with freezing rain.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for most of Missouri and southern and eastern parts of Kansas starting Tuesday night and running through Thursday. Up to 14 inches of snow could fall in the Kansas City area and up to 10 inches around St. Louis, according to the weather service. Southwestern Kansas could see up to 8 inches.

But forecasters are warning it's the threat of freezing rain -- up to a quarter-inch in southwestern Missouri -- coupled with the snow and high winds that could lead to widespread power outages, even as wind chills plummet below zero overnight today into Thursday.

For the Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois areas, the NWS said "Heavy mixed precipitation is possible," with snow and sleet accumulations of between 2 and 5 inches, and ice accumulation of one-tenth of an inch.

"Power outages and tree damage are possible due to the ice," according to the NWS statement. "Travel could be nearly impossible and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. The hazardous conditions could impact those travelers during the morning or evening commutes, especially on Thursday."

The NWS said the storm could affect The winter storm warning is in effect from noon today through 6 a.m. Friday for Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Perry, Ripley, Stoddard and Wayne counties in Missouri.

Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and activated the Missouri National Guard in an effort to help local jurisdictions to prepare for and respond to the snow.

By Tuesday afternoon, St. Louis Lambert International Airport had canceled 120 departures scheduled for today, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.com. Kansas City also was canceling more flights than usual for today.

Officials warned that travel during the storm will be treacherous, if not impossible, leading several school districts, universities and colleges to cancel classes or go to online learning. The University of Missouri will have only online classes today and Thursday, while some smaller colleges, such as Lincoln University in Jefferson City, will close.

Amtrak also announced it would not run its once-daily route between St. Louis and Kansas City today and Thursday.

The looming weather also led Missouri officials to cancel legislative sessions for today and Thursday. In Kansas City, residents learned trash pickup had been canceled for the remainder of the week.

The Kansas Legislature canceled all of its meetings today and most of its business for the rest of the week.