Central Missouri roads covered, but snow still falling
Anyone traveling Saturday morning will do so over a bed of snow.
Roads were covered before dawn Saturday after 6 to 10 inches of snow fell Friday afternoon and overnight, with another 4 to 8 inches expected before snow moves out late Saturday. A winter storm warning was in effect for much of the area through 6 a.m. Sunday. The National Weather Service said Saturday that 14.5 inches of snow had fallen at the Columbia Regional Airport since snowfall began Friday.
Here is a quick look at snow and sleet accumulation for this winter storm through 6 AM. The map is an estimate based on reports that we have received #mowx #ilwx #stlwx pic.twitter.com/Sm8hylYcGA
— NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) January 12, 2019
Several businesses and community organizations had closed or canceled events set for Saturday.
While primary roads have been plowed and were mostly drivable, many residential streets had not, with several inches of fresh snow on the pavement making travel nearly impossible for many.
Road crews were working overnight, local and states agencies reported.
The Missouri Department of Transportation’s online traveler map showed all state roads in the area covered with snow, including Interstate 70 and Highway 63. The Missouri Department of Transportation said at about 11 a.m. that it had responded to nearly 3,000 calls for service, including 723 crashes with 48 injuries. Four people were killed in those crashes.
As of 8:00 am this morning,MSHP has responded to:
— 2968 calls for service
— 1252 stranded motorists
— 723 crashes
— 48 injuries
* 4 fatalities
PLEASE DO NOT TRAVEL. I-44 in St. Louis still being hit particularly hard. Road conditions at https://t.co/ZDpgnCCZGC pic.twitter.com/zzTzvVms8M
— MSHP General HQ (@MSHPTrooperGHQ) January 12, 2019
Cole County Public Works Director Larry Benz said advised residents to clear a small patch to the left of their driveways to minimize the snow plows displace in front of driveways as they pass.
The city of Columbia was focusing on primary routes throughout the night and Saturday morning, in line with city policy. The city also began ticketing and towing vehicles from designated priority routes at 7 p.m. Friday, according to a notice posted on the city’s page dedicated to snow removal tracking.
A crew of 30 reported at 7 a.m. to continue plowing Columbia streets, Columbia Public Works said. Workers were focusing on clearing the city’s first- and second-priority routes and removing downed trees and limbs.
Columbia first responders had been sent to dozens of calls of crashes and electrical hazards between Friday afternoon and early Saturday, with several of the calls happening on major routes such as Highway 63, Business Loop 70, Stadium Boulevard, Providence Road and Interstate 70.
The snow had also knocked out power to thousands of Columbia Water and Light customers, according to the utility’s online outage map. As of 6 a.m. nearly 2,800 Water and Light customers were without power, with outages spread throughout the city. Boone Electric Cooperative’s outage map showed nearly 2,000 customers without power.
The number of Water and Light customers without power had topped 5,000 by 8:30 a.m. Columbia Water and Light said crews were called to 43 separate outages caused by heavy snow making trees and limbs sag into power lines.
We have 43 power outages due to the heavy snow causing trees and limbs to sag into power lines. Visit https://t.co/YdwqNhuIHt for updates & if you have an outage that isn’t on our map, call 573.875.2555 to let us know. Thanks for your patience while we work on restoring power. pic.twitter.com/EIiWhNqgrs
— Columbia Water&Light (@CoMoWaterLight) January 12, 2019
Ameren Missouri reported few outages in central Missouri, with small outages in the Rocheport, Boonville, Pilot Grove, Prairie Home and Hartsburg areas.
Look for updates throughout the day at abc17news.com.
