SNOW FINALLY DISAPPEARING; DECEMENTER SNOW SEES JANUARY SUN

Call it the four-inch snow that wouldn't go away.

Some evidence of the snow that fell in Cape Girardeau County on Dec. 13 -- that's 32 days ago -- can still be found in shady areas and in piles left by road-clearing equipment.

"I can only recall one other time that snow cover has lingered on this long," said Terry Long, a retired advertising executive who has been in Cape Girardeau more than a half century. "That was an unexpected winter storm in February of 1979."

That blizzard brought 24 inches. Snow cover lasted for 53 days, from Feb. 25 through April 18.

It's unlikely this year's snow cover will last as long, although David Blanchard of the National Weather Service from Paducah, Ky., said there are still patches on shady roads and some fields.

That could disappear soon, according to the National Weather Service's long-range forecast. "We're looking to a brief period of above normal temperatures," said Blanchard.

The extreme cold from 2000 continued into the first week of January, with four days of lows from 3 to 10 degrees. A warming trend, to 47 degrees, was recorded Jan. 5. The temperature reached 51 degrees the following day.

That solved the problem of an iced-over Mississippi River in some areas. The Hickman/Dorena Ferry resumed operations Tuesday for the first time since Christmas Eve. The ferry from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., to Modoc, Ill., is still grounded.

Temperatures up to 50 degrees could be recorded in the area over the weekend, with a 40 percent chance of rain.

The long-range forecast, Tuesday through Thursday, is for highs in the 40 and low around 30s.

December wound up the second coldest December in the weather service record, with high temperatures ranging from 19 to 30 the final half of the month. Lows ranged from 3 to 24, with no less than a half-dozen, single-digit lows.

The average temperature this year was about 20 on the low side and 31 on the high side, second coldest December ever in Missouri. The average December temperature has been about 10 degrees lower than the normal December temperature of 37.1 degrees.