Winter storm closes Mizzou, colleges, local schools

An impending winter storms forced the University of Missouri and other local school districts to close Monday night.

ABC 17 Stormtrack forecasters were calling for a range of three to eight inches of snow starting Tuesday morning. Snow totals would vary, with the heaviest snow falling north of Interstate 70 and lighter snow totals expected around the Lake of the Ozarks.

Mizzou announced a full closure of the Columbia campus for Tuesday, ahead of the storm. All MU Health Care hospitals and the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital will remain open Tuesday.

“With forecasts predicting up to 8 inches of snow, we are concerned about the safety of our students, faculty and staff as they would be traveling to and from campus during the heaviest snowfall,” said Gary Ward, interim vice chancellor for administrative services, in a news release. “This also will allow our crews to adequately clear the campus in preparation for classes to resume when it is safe to do so.”

Lincoln University, Columbia College, Bryan University and Metro Business College also canceled classes for Tuesday.

The winter storm also forced most school districts in mid-Missouri to close for Tuesday.

Columbia Public Schools, Jefferson City Public Schools, Fulton Public Schools and dozens of others made the call throughout the day Monday.

You can find a full, constantly updated list of school and community closings/cancellations here.

Stay with ABC 17 News and abc17news.com for updates on this developing story.