Nearly 35,000 without power in Southeast Missouri as snow coats area

At 6:10 a.m., the AmerenUE website reflected more than 34,000 customers without power.

The outages occurred as freezing rain fell continuously Tuesday night, coating trees and power lines with a layer of ice. Around the area trees could be heard snapping well into the night.

As of late Tuesday night, Jackson's municipal utilities were reporting no outages.

Snow had begun to fall before 3 a.m. at Cape Girardeau, and was still falling at 6 a.m., though National Weather Service forecasts indicate the snowfall should be coming to an end soon. Roads around the area were covered.

As of 6:15 a.m., over a thousand Cape Girardeau reisdents were without power as a result of a winter storm that dumped several inches of additional snow on Southeast Missouri overnight.

Ameren's outage map reflected 34,366 customers without power, including 1,256 in Sikeston, and 1,928 in Chaffee, Mo.

There were 1,319 customers without power in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau police have responded to about 20 calls of power lines down since midnight, as lines snap under the weight of the ice.

While no roads are yet closed in the city, police said driving conditions are extremely hazardous.

The Cape Girardeau fire department has responded to several calls of fallen tree limbs during early morning hours.

Among the worst hit counties for electrical outages are Stoddard, with 7,345 in the dark -- 99 percent of Ameren's customers; 95 percent of Pemiscot customers are without electricity and 94 percent of those in New Madrid are powerless. More than 4,500 in Mississippi County are in the dark, along with 1,589 Ameren customers in Cape Girardeau County.

In Scott County, 86 percent of AmerenUE customers were without power.

Ameren customers in Illinois without power include 2,559 in Gallatin County; 1,703 in Pulaski County; 1,043 in Alexander County and 404 in Union County.

The figures may be higher overall, as most of the above-named counties have other electric service providers, however those figures are not available at this time.

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