Snow not as heavy as forecast; low temperatures will stay for a few days

Rain and sleet gave way to snow and some icy roads in the Cape Girardeau area Sunday.

Four to 6 inches of snow were expected in the area, but about an inch fell in Cape Girardeau and in Jackson, according to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. With north-northwest winds of 26 to 29 mph with gusts as high as 44 mph, fat white flakes whipped around in the air periodically.

Robin Smith, meteorologist at the NWS in Paducah, said snowfall in Jackson came in at 1 inch. The same amount was reported in Marble Hill, Mo., and Perryville, Mo., received 3.5 inches. Thirty miles north of Cape Girardeau, Smith said, is where the heavy band of snow started. St. Louis got clobbered with anywhere from 10 inches to a foot of the white stuff.

Today's predicted high temperature is minus 1 with a low of minus 3 tonight, Dave Purdy, NWS meteorological technician, said.

It will start to warm up Tuesday when the high will be 19 with sunny skies, he said.

A 40 percent chance of snow and sleet is forecast for Wednesday with a high of 32 and low of 29 that night. A wintry mix is expected for Wednesday night and into Thursday, Purdy said.

Stephen Kennedy braves the weather for a walk along Main Street, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in downtown Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

"The next couple of days will probably be the most difficult," he said. He advised people to limit outdoor activities in the bitter cold temperatures and not to drive anywhere unless you have to.

Missouri Department of Transportation district engineer Mark Shelton said late Sunday afternoon that roads were about the same as earlier -- partly covered or mostly covered, except in the southern parts of the Bootheel.

"We're getting a little snow on them and the temperature is dropping and what snow we're having is blowing," Shelton said. "That's creating a challenge for us as well, so that's kind of what it is. If you get down to Sikeston and south, it's partly covered. ... Anything north and west of Poplar Bluff and Sikeston is covered right now. We'll expect with these cold temperatures that they're not going to be able to clean them [the roads] up. There may not be a whole lot of snow on them, but the rain and sleet we got earlier is kind of a challenge for us as well."

"We're going to stay out there and keep putting down some material, [but] it's hard to get those roads good and cleared up until we get a little bit warmer temperatures," Shelton added.

Shelton encouraged people to view MoDOT's traveler information map at modot.org, also available as an app for tablets, iPhone or Android phones. "What I think is kind of a neat feature of the map is we have traffic cameras in various places. You can actually tap on those things and it brings up a live feed from just exactly what the interstate looks like," he added.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E public information officer Cpl. Clark Parrott said Sunday that troopers were working multiple "slide offs" in the Cape Girardeau area.

Earlier Sunday, Cape Girardeau emergency management director Dick Knaup and other officials suggested people stay home. He said the snow here wasn't as bad as points north.

"I talked to family members in St. Louis and they got blasted [Saturday] night. They're still getting heavy snow and they had 10 to 12 inches on the ground. I think the worst went north of us," Knaup said. He added there have been reports of cars in ditches, though.

"The initial shock of people getting out there and sliding off [into] the ditches, now I think people are taking shelter in their houses," Knaup said.

Tom Beardslee, Scott County emergency management director, said late Sunday afternoon, roads were ice covered and there were two accidents on Interstate 55 and an electric pole got knocked over on County Road 352. However, the Scott County Sheriff's Department said SEMO Electric Cooperative was notified and only a couple of people were without power.

Beardslee said he didn't think accumulations were going to reach the 4 to 6 inches forecast.

"From the radar, it's real light stuff and the wind's whipping it pretty good," but there's not enough snow to drift, he said.

He said there was quite a bit of traffic early Sunday afternoon. "And people aren't letting up on the gas much. They're going to have to find out the hard way [that] when the ice forms, it's time to slow down," Beardslee said.

The forecast for bitter cold is another factor, he said. When you run off the road and it's 30 or 40 degrees, it's not bad, but when you run off the road and it's 5 degrees, "it's life threatening," Beardslee said. That's why motorists need to pack extra items in their cars, such as food, water, blankets and clothing.

On Sunday evening, Beardslee said the Scott County Courthouse in Benton, Mo., will be closed today because of the weather

Before the storm hit, local grocery store managers said they had a rush Saturday.

Ron Bonhert, assistant grocery manager at Schnucks, and Tyler Palmer, first assistant manager at Food Giant, said milk, bread and eggs were the major items people were after Saturday.

Sunday afternoon, Bohnert said Schnucks was not out of bread, milk and eggs, but "we're close." He added he also was running low on ice scrapers.

His warehouse in St. Louis was having trouble getting trucks out on the road with all the snow there, "but hopefully tomorrow our truck shows up we'll be back in business."

Palmer said Saturday set a sales record with bread and milk leading the way.

Sunday night, scattered flurries were predicted before midnight with lows around minus 3, Purdy said.

Cape Girardeau schools were already scheduled to be closed today, reopening Tuesday. Jackson schools are closed today, but Snow Day Kids Club will be in session at South Elementary School, the district's website said.

Because of inclement weather, Wehrenberg Theatres Cape West 14 Cine on Siemers Drive closed early Sunday. In an email, the theater said it would reopen today.

Kelly Hoskins, vice president of marketing, said Sunday it's not unusual for the theater to close when the weather is dangerous. It closed when December's snow and ice storm hit, Hoskins said.

With the bad weather and frigid temperatures, "we feel it's to our guests' and staff's best interest to close," Hoskins said Sunday.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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