Most of region, state covered in snow

Southeast Missouri residents woke Thursday morning to falling snow that quickly accumulated, closing schools and creating traffic problems.

Lt. Brent Davis of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E, said the patrol was getting a lot of accident reports.

"The calls are coming in from all over the troop," he said. "I don't think we have one county that is exempt."

Davis attributed most of the accidents to people driving too fast. "It never seems to fail that when we have something like this, that we have an inordinate amount of accidents," he said. "People start off slow and then they build confidence and go faster and end up sliding off the road into a ditch, or crossing the center line and involving another vehicle, causing a serious accident."

Schools reported closed

The Sikeston, Mo., area reported total snowfall of approximately 4 to 5 inches. Schools were reported closed in Pemiscot, New Madrid, Mississippi and Scott counties. Slick roads also created problems along Interstate 55 in Pemiscot and New Madrid counties.

All Stoddard County schools were closed, as well as the Bootheel Education Center in Kennett, Mo., and Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Poplar Bluff officials expected total accumulation in that area to be between 6 and 8 inches.

Gene Brannum, superintendent of the Poplar Bluff Street Department, said his crew went to work on clearing the snow around 4 a.m.

"We will continue working until all this is over with," he said.

Brannum said main roads in Poplar Bluff were passable, but secondary roads were still hazardous. "This is a pretty dry snow, so traction on the primary streets is very good," he said.

Dexter, Mo., officials estimated a snowfall of approximately 7 inches by Thursday evening.

Stay home if possible

Davis said the highway patrol is recommending that anyone who doesn't have to travel stay home. The highway patrol's toll-free number for road conditions is (800) 222-6400. Road conditions are also available on the patrol's Web site at www.modot.state.mo.us.

Elsewhere across the state, much of northwestern Missouri and eastern Kansas received the first measurable snowfall of the season.

The National Weather Service had issued winter storm warnings and watches for the areas.

The heaviest snow early Thursday was in the Kansas City area, which received between 3 and 6 inches, and in northeast Missouri, where Clark County received between 5 and 6 inches.

Much of the Kansas City metro area received around 6 inches, enough to close all of the city's public schools and bring morning rush-hour traffic to a near stand-still on some major highways.

At least one fatal accident, on a farm road in Greene County Thursday morning, was blamed on the weather.

The worst part of the storm was expected to be high winds causing drifting, the weather service said, along with highs only in the 20s.

"The focus of this storm will be in our area and to the north," said Mike Looney, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City. "It looks like maybe it's our turn this time."

Missouri Department of Transportation crews sprayed salt brine Wednesday onto major highways in the eight-county Kansas City district to keep the snow from binding with the pavement.

Joel Blobaum, a spokesman for the transportation department's Kansas City district, said 200 plows were scheduled for 12-hour shifts to clear the roads.

"Our main concentration will be getting the interstates clear, and the main lines," he said. "There's not much we can do about blowing snow except go back and clear what gets covered up."