Let it snow? Missourians brace for 'classic' storm

The Associated Press

A winter storm described by some forecasters as "classic" rolled into southern Missouri on Monday, disrupting air and vehicle travel amid the prospect of as much of a foot of snow in some stretches.

For some Missourians dreaming of a white Christmas, "they're gonna be thrilled," said Wes Browning of the National Weather Service's Springfield office.

Many motorists might find it all just a headache as the holiday travel period swings into gear.

"Hopefully, it won't be nearly as bad as it sounds," the AAA Auto Club of Missouri's Mike Right said of the potential mess.

The storm that bowled into southwest Missouri about noon Monday produced near-whiteout conditions in some parts, slickening highways and sending numerous motorists into ditches as it inched eastward.

Within hours, that area's largest airport -- Springfield-Branson Regional -- delayed commercial flights Monday afternoon after visibility dropped below what was allowed for airlines, spokeswoman Sherry Wallace said. Private flights still were being allowed to leave, she said.

Elsewhere, American Airlines announced it would let customers traveling to and from St. Louis on Monday and Wednesday to adjust their travel plans, without penalty, to avoid what it called "the challenging weather" expected around the Gateway City.

American's customers who were to travel Monday night or Tuesday "are especially encouraged to change their reservations for departure" to earlier Monday, or Wednesday, the airline said.

The system "is a classic one, with nothing lacking that we can see," he said, noting that the storm's ingredients -- moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, upper-level low pressure from the west, and cold, dry air -- that made for the perfect recipe for potential disaster.

Missouri's southern third likely was to get the heaviest snow, with total accumulation of six to 10 inches -- perhaps even a foot in some spots -- before the storm clears Tuesday morning, Browning said.

"It's going to be a very, very dramatic gradient of snow accumulation," Browning said. "In one county, one part may get 10 inches while another may just get an inch -- that's just how tight the gradient is."

Forecasting the fallout, if any, around St. Louis was tricky for that area's meteorologists, who by Monday afternoon managed to conclude that the only certainty was that southern Missouri was going to get pounded, the weather service's Scott Truett said.

"The real dilemma here is, what's going to happen on the storm's northern fringes," Truett said from the service's office in Weldon Spring, a St. Louis suburb. "It appears there'll be a sharp delineation between accumulation and no accumulation."

While saying that 6 inches of snow "is not out of the question" around St. Louis, Truett questioned aloud: "Is it going to be in the city or 40 miles to the south or what? That's what we're trying to pin down."

Though the AAA's Right expects highway crews in snow-affected areas to swiftly clear the roads and keep the mess in check, he urged would-be holiday motorists to check their journey's weather forecasts before venturing out -- and to drive slow.

"I think a lot of people are going to be extremely anxious, as well they should," he said. "But if they can avoid placing unrealistic expectations on travel time and be flexible, I think they'll be fine."

While St. Louis' weather outlook remained fuzzy Monday afternoon, many consumers in that area were proactive in getting winter supplies. By noon, there were more empty boxes than there were snow brushes on the shelves of a St. Louis-area Home Depot.

"I'm just getting ready for the storm. I don't want to be stuck like I was last year," said St. Louisan Valerie Johnson, her cart stocked with a snow brush and scraper, a bag of salt and metal shovel.

A few miles away, about 30 bags of salt and other snow melters already had cleared the shelves at the True Value Ace Hardware, where owner Lou Mitchell said most customers were landlords, with one man buying about 10 80-pound bags.