Crews working to plow roads through overnight hours
Crews will continue to plow Mid-Missouri roads through the overnight hours.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol has reported one of the state’s major roads is “impassable.”
The patrol tweeted Sunday evening that Interstate 70 was impassable between Kansas City and Marshall, Missouri. The bulletin was the latest warning from authorities as blizzard-like conditions made their way to mid-Missouri from the north and west.
Later Boone County emergency authorities put out a warning that Vandiver Drive was closed at Parker Street because of snow and ice.
Many counties across the region are under a blizzard warning (orange) until 6 a.m. Monday. A blizzard warning is issued when winds are expected to be over 35 mph for a sustained period of time leading to visibility less than a quarter of a mile.
The National Weather Service in the warning issued for Columbia said 2 to 5 inches of snow was expected before the storm is done. Interstate 70 in Boone County had become snow covered before 5 p.m., according to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s travel information map. By 6 p.m. Highway 63 was covered north of Columbia. MoDOT cautioned against any travel on I-70 west of Columbia.
Conditions on #I70 at the Saline/Cooper Co. line (pic Trooper N. Wallace). #MOwx pic.twitter.com/YwFWpqL5tu
— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) November 25, 2018 I-70 from Kansas City to US-65 (Marshall Junction) is impassable, especially westbound. Numerous crashes, stranded motorists and traffic is stopped. Please avoid traveling! #KCTraffic #MoWx pic.twitter.com/mvyZxg7qy5
— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) November 25, 2018
Conditions are expected to deteriorate through the evening from west to east, with many areas along and north of Highway 50 seeing in excess of 3 inches of snow.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to two single-vehicle crashes Sunday afternoon on I-70 at mile marker 115 and 140. Both vehicles spun out on the roadway. The patrol via its social media accounts had urged drivers earlier in the day to stay off the roads.
⚠️This preemptive tweet serves to prevent a mass of slide-offs & crashes ahead of the winter weather tracking toward Mid-Missouri⚠️
➡️Don’t travel if you don’t have to
➡️Monitor weather conditions
➡️Wait it out#MOwx pic.twitter.com/ZiBn0ZhUk6
— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) November 25, 2018
The city of Columbia on Sunday afternoon warned residents to move their cars from parking along priority routes. City ordinance dictates these routes be clear when two or more inches of snow falls. Columbia Public Works brought in a 10- to 14-person crew to work on roads overnight. More information about Columbia snow clearing efforts and priority streets is available on the city’s website.
The storm was causing significant travel problems in the northwest part of the state, even causing the closure of Interstate 29 north and west of St. Joseph, Missouri, near the Iowa border.
You can check the MoDOT Traveler’s Information map by clicking here.
Some churches and community groups were beginning to cancel events late Sunday afternoon. The full list of current closings and cancellations is available by clicking here.
