Missouri crews prepare for winter storm
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has activated the State Emergency Operations Center for round-the-clock operation in response to the winter storm bearing down on the state.
The storm on Thursday brought sleet, freezing rain and snow to Missouri, creating hazardous driving conditions in the southern part of the state. Temperatures were 40 degrees colder than Wednesday, when much of Missouri basked in weather in the 60s.
Other state agencies were also geared up for the weather. The Missouri State Highway Patrol extended shifts in affected areas, and workers for the Missouri Department of Transportation were treating roads for snow and ice.
Nixon encouraged Missourians to stay on top of the weather, drive cautiously, and check on the elderly and others who may need help.
MoDOT crews were mainly along the I-44 corridor in Pulaski, Phelps, Laclede, Dent and Crawford counties. On Wednesday, crews loaded salt into trucks at the agency’s maintenance shed in Jefferson City and throughout the 18 counties in the Central MoDOT District.
“Our plan is to be 24-hour a day operational, so we are basically staffed to that point and are ready to do that,” said MoDOT engineer Randy Aulbur.
Boone Electric Cooperative and Ameren Missouri are sending extra crews to the southeastern part of the state.
A total of 110 Ameren crews were deployed from central Missouri to assist with potential outages due to ice and snow near Cape Girardeau.
