Columbia Public Schools, Jefferson City Schools to close Friday because of winter storm
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Jefferson City Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Lincoln University and the University of Missouri announced plans to close Friday as a winter storm approached Mid-Missouri.
JCSD tweeted out its decision at 9 p.m. Thursday. CPS announced the decision a little before 5 p.m., shortly after the University of Missouri said it would close its campus ahead of ice and snow expected starting early Friday. Lincoln University announced its closure around 10 p.m.
Centralia and Southern Boone public schools also said they would close Friday. A full list of closings is available by clicking here.
Crews were busy pretreating roads Thursday afternoon ahead of the storm.
Columbia Public Works said in a news release Thursday morning that it was preparing a plan to reduce travel impacts and would release more details later in the day.
Richard Stone with Columbia Public Works said Thursday afternoon that crews were pretreating hills, intersections and bridges.
LINK: State highway conditions on MoDOT traveler map
The University of Missouri announced its operations, including UM System offices, would be closed Friday because of the weather. Officials said they plan to reopen Saturday. Classes begin Tuesday.
The university said updates would be posted on the MU Alert website, including information about MU Health clinics and hospitals and the Veterinary Health Center.
The National Weather Service has the area in a winter storm watch with 1 to 3 inches of snow possible followed by sleet and freezing rain. The ABC 17 News Stormtrack Weather team has declared a Weather Alert Day for Friday. Snow is expected to start early Friday morning and change into a wintry mix around midday.
The freezing rain and sleet could lead to a glaze up to two-tenths of an inch of ice.
The Missouri Department of Transportation said its crews would be out Thursday night treating roads ahead of the storm.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
