WINTER STORM UPDATES: Jefferson City School District announces late start for Wednesday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Schools within the Jefferson City School District with have a delayed start on Wednesday, according to an email from district spokesman.
Jefferson City Schools will start two hours later than its normal start time. The email states that busses in Callaway County will run snow routes.
The district had a snow day on Tuesday, as did much of the Mid-Missouri area after snow fell. Area schools for Wednesday have also either canceled class, gone remote or announced a delayed start. Columbia Public Schools is among the schools districts to announce a two-hour delay, while Fulton and Southern Boone will be closed.
Stay up to date with all weather-related closings and delays on our website.
Macon County total power outages begin to fall
The amount of power outages in Macon County appear to be on the decline.
Earlier on Tuesday, more than 2,600 outages were reported in the county, according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives outage map. at 7:20 p.m., there were 1,420 outages reported for Macon Electric Cooperative customers in the county. That cooperative also services Macon's surrounding counties.
By 10 p.m., the numbers for Macon County outages fell to 1,176.
Shelby County has 894 outages from Macon Electric Cooperative, while Randolph County has 329, Monroe County has 332 and Chariton County has 294.
MEC stated on its Facebook page that it had 5,000 meters without power earlier in the day, but that number was reduced to 2,000 by 6 p.m.
Warming centers were set up around MEC's coverage area. It gave a list on its Facebook page:
Shelby County
- Shelbina Library Basement
- Shelbyville Extension Office
- Clarence City Hall
- Hunnewl City Hall
Macon County
- Callao Christian Church
- Bevier First Baptist Church
Fulton Public Schools closed Wednesday
Fulton Public Schools has announced that it will be closed on Wednesday.
Kingdom Christian Academy in Fulton will also be closed. The closures comes after snow came into the area on Monday and Tuesday.
A number of Mid-Missouri schools were closed on Tuesday, including Callaway County schools, Columbia Public Schools and the Jefferson City School District. CPS announced a late start for Wednesday.
Stay up to date with all are closings and delays on our website.
Columbia Public Schools announces late start for Wednesday
Columbia Public Schools have announced that all of its schools will have a two-hour delayed start on Wednesday.
A district spokesperson wrote in an email that the delayed start also means that busses will pick up students two hours later.
The district wrote the delay allows for more time for sidewalks and parking lots to be cleared.
Stay up to date with all weather-related closings and delays on our website.
Thousands without power in Macon County
Thousands of electric cooperative members and Ameren Missouri customers in the northern reaches of Mid-Missouri were without power Tuesday morning after receiving several inches of snow overnight.
The Macon Electric Cooperative reported more than 2,600 members in Macon County without power a little before 2:30 p.m., according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives outage map. In Randolph County, 352 Macon cooperative members and a handful of Boone Electric members were without power. In addition, 452 customers in Monroe County were without power at 2:30 p.m., according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives outage map.
Macon Electric Cooperative posted on its Facebook on Tuesday afternoon that linemen are being sent from other counties to help restore power. An estimated time for power restorations was not given.
More than 300 Ameren Missouri electric customers were dark in the Moberly area around noon.
No outages were reported in Columbia as of late morning.
Patrol says no injuries since midnight
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct the time frame of the crashes.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol had an injury-free morning in Mid-Missouri on Tuesday.
Troopers in Troop F, which covers Mid-Missouri, were sent to 23 calls for service and helped 11 stranded drivers between midnight and 8 a.m. They also worked seven crashes but none involved injuries.
Update: As of midnight, Troop F has received:
— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) January 9, 2024
Calls For Service: 23
Stranded Motorists: 11
Non-Injury Crashes: 7
Injury Crashes: 0
Unless it’s necessary, please stay home🏠, stay warm, and stay safe. We will continue to keep you updated as the second storm moves through today. pic.twitter.com/ieC0V3LgDC
That's compared to 243 calls including seven injury crashes and 119 stranded drivers on Monday.
A semi-truck jackknifed on Interstate 70 early Tuesday, closing the eastbound lanes, but was cleared after about two hours.
Police in Mexico, Missouri, said officers had reported 13 crashes, slide-offs and stranded drivers by about 8 a.m.
I-70 reopens in Columbia after semi crash
A jackknifed semi-truck closed part of Interstate 70 in Columbia for more than two hours on Tuesday morning.
The crash was reported at about 5 a.m. Boone County emergency dispatchers alerted the public that the eastbound lanes of I-70 were closed west of the Highway 63 connector.
The Missouri Department of Transportation's traveler information map showed I-70 was partly to most clear through Boone County at about 5:30 a.m.
The road reopened at about 7:30 a.m. The driver refused medical attention, a Columbia Fire Department spokesperson said. The semi-truck was hauling dry goods and the trailer sustained serious damage.
A worker with I-70 Towing and Recovery told ABC 17 News that tow truck drivers have had few calls this morning but expect things to pick up in the afternoon.
Centralia reported about 3 inches of snow accumulation early Tuesday while Ashland reported about 1.6 inches.
Some roads slick as snow falls on Mid-Missouri
Some Mid-Missouri roads were slick and covered in snow as a wintry mix continued to fall during the area's first major winter storm of the season Tuesday morning.
Side streets in Columbia remained covered in a slushy mix of snow and water as precipitation alternated between rain and snow Tuesday morning. The Missouri Department of Transportation's traveler information map showed that major highways were partially covered or covered throughout Central Missouri.
Major thoroughfares in Columbia were primarily wet with some slush.
Several Mid-Missouri school districts preemptively called off Tuesday classes on Monday, including Columbia Public Schools, the Jefferson City School District and Fulton Public Schools. ABC 17 News will continue to update closings and delays at this link.
Rain and snow were expected to continue throughout Tuesday in Columbia.
Jefferson City School District cancels Tuesday classes
The Jefferson City School District announced in an email on Monday night that Jefferson City schools will be closed on Tuesday.
"NO SCHOOL: JC Schools will be CLOSED tomorrow, TUES 1/9/24, due to inclement weather and potentially unsafe travel conditions," the email reads.
Stay up to date with all Mid-Missouri school cancelations on our closings page.
Fulton Public Schools cancels Tuesday classes
Callaway County's largest school district has announced that it will not have classes on Tuesday.
Fulton Public School wrote on its social media that it has canceled classes.
"Due to road conditions and the forecast for additional snow tomorrow, there will be NO SCHOOL for Fulton Public Schools tomorrow, Tuesday, January 9th, 2024. It's a Great Day to be a Hornet!" the post reads.
Other Callaway County schools -- including New Bloomfield, North Callaway and South Callaway -- also announced cancelations.
In Boone County, Hallsville, Southern Boone and Columbia Public Schools also announced cancelations.
Stay up to date with all Mid-Missouri school cancelations on our closings page.
Columbia Public Schools cancels Tuesday classes
Columbia Public Schools is the first large Mid-Missouri school district to cancel Tuesday classes as a winter storm slammed the area.
Forecasts were predicting about 3 to 5 inches of snow for the Columbia area before the snow exits sometime Tuesday. A wintry mix had already made roads slushy by the time classes let out Monday afternoon.
"The timing for additional accumulation overnight and at various times throughout tomorrow are of concern," the district wrote in an email to parents. "The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority."
Moberly Public Schools moved classes to online-only on Tuesday and Higbee canceled classes. Centralia Public Schools and Westran later added their names to the list of schools out Tuesday because of snow.
CPS reminded parents of a recent change in the snow-day calendar.
"The district has enough instructional hours built into its school year calendar to allow for approximately 6 winter weather days to be taken without having to make them up at the end of the school year," CPS wrote.
More than 800 power outages reported in Cooper County
UPDATE: The map showed the Cooper County outages had been restored at around 5:30 p.m.
There have been hundreds of power outages reported in Mid-Missouri as snow continues to fall in the area.
According to Ameren's outage map at 4:57 p.m., there were 818 customers in Cooper County without power. ABC 17 News has reached out to Ameren.
In addition, there were 17 outages reported in Callaway County for Ameren customers, and another 35 of Callaway Electric Cooperative customers without power near Carrington.
There are 93 Ameren customers in Morgan County without power and an additional 7 from its electric cooperative, according to online maps. Saline County had a combined 129 outages between Ameren (88) and electric cooperative (41) customers.
Fulton police warn drivers about slick roads
Fulton police warned drivers Monday evening of slick conditions ahead of the evening commute.
"The snow has increased in intensity," the Fulton Police Department warned on Facebook at about 4 p.m. "The roads are slick and officers are responding to slide offs and accidents as they are reported.
"If you do have an accident and there are no injuries it may take extra time for an officer to respond. Injury accidents and road blockages will take priority. Stay safe and slow down if you do have to get out. Turn on your headlights, slow down, clear off your windows, and leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you."
The Missouri Department of Transportation's traveler information map showed major highways throughout Mid-Missouri, including Highway 54 around Fulton, were covered or partially covered in snow just before 5 p.m.
Roads become covered in snow
The Missouri Department of Transportation reported roads that were quickly becoming covered in snow mid-afternoon Monday as more was expected to fall into Tuesday.
MoDOT's traveler information map showed Interstate 70 was covered to partly covered in snow through most of Mid-Missouri. Highway 63 was partially covered in Boone and Cole counties and crashes were reported north and south of Columbia..
Boone County emergency dispatchers also reported several crashes affecting traffic on I-70 and on Broadway in Ashland.
Several community organizations had canceled events for Monday and Tuesday and some schools had already adjusted their schedules by Monday afternoon.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather watches, warnings and advisories for counties around Mid-Missouri into Tuesday.
As of 2:00 p.m., Troop F has received:
— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) January 8, 2024
Calls For Service: 28
Stranded Motorists: 13
Non-Injury Crashes: 6
Injury Crashes: 2
Unless it’s absolutely necessary, please stay home🏠, stay warm, and stay safe. We will continue to keep you updated as the storm moves through the area. pic.twitter.com/zY62qeTf15
The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop F, which serves Mid-Missouri, posted on X that troopers had gone to 28 calls by 2 p.m. and helped 13 stranded drivers.
