Winter's snowfall total more than doubles

After a mild January, it finally felt -- and looked -- like winter in the area as heavy snowflakes fell from the sky on Wednesday morning. The snow created slick roads for motorists, and one Cape Girardeau police officer went to the hospital after a vehicle struck his patrol car.

Meteorologists said the area received 1 to 3 inches after snow let up a little after 1 p.m.

"We were expecting around an inch, and in some areas we did get a little more," said meteorologist Christine Wielgos with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. "We actually thought it would mix with rain, and as it turned out it was mostly snow."

KFVS12 meteorologist John Dissauer said Wednesday's snow more than doubled the total snowfall for the winter -- the last accumulating snowfall in December left 2 inches in the area.

Temperatures are predicted to be in 20s this morning but should rise to the mid-40s in the afternoon.

"There will be a lot of melting except in the shady areas," said Bob Reeves, KFVS12 meteorologist.

Street crews worked throughout the day clearing city and county roads. By about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, all of Cape Girardeau's primary streets were clear, said Steve Cook, assistant public works director.

Cape Girardeau County Highway Department engineer Scott Bechtold said county roads should be mostly clear today.

"We've been cleaning them and putting cinders on them, especially the hills and intersections," Bechtold said. "People still want to drive with caution. It's hard to predict, but there should be reasonable travel conditions with the exception of a few icy spots to watch for."

The slippery road conditions created problems for motorists and caused several rural school superintendents to dismiss classes early on Wednesday.

Snow blanketed the trees and the ground Tuesday morning at Jackson City Park. It snowed most of the morning, but most of the snow on roads melted by the late afternoon.

A Cape Girardeau squad car was struck on the passenger side after the officer got into his vehicle to leave the scene of a previous accident that occurred on southbound Interstate 55 near mile marker 99. The officer hit his knees against the dashboard and went to the hospital but was released. Both vehicles sustained substantial damage, said police spokesman Jason Selzer.

"It didn't look like we had a tremendous amount of accidents today," Selzer said. "There were a few this morning, but no serious injuries that I'm aware of."

Scott City police reported four accidents due to the road conditions, and Jackson had five accidents -- one accident on West Independence Street left two Jackson residents with minor injuries.

Several rural schools, including Scott City, dismissed children by noon. Scott City superintendent Diann Bradshaw said she called off afternoon classes because secondary roads in Scott City were snowpacked by 9:30 a.m.

"The transportation director and myself drove the roads this morning and made the decision to let students out early," she said. "I'm not making the decision to call off school on Thursday till morning."

Scott City police said local roads were free of snow by Wednesday afternoon.

Reeves said there is a hint that a weak system might move through the area within the next few days but Wednesday's flakes were the only measurable snow on the horizon.

The 2006 Old Farmer's Almanac called for sunny and mild temperatures throughout the this week. However, the online version at www.farmersalmanac.com predicted snow for Feb. 8 through the 11.

jfreeze@semissourian.com