Travel Disruptions Loom as Snow and Ice Set to Sweep In This Weekend

• Likelihood of Light Rain This Afternoon & Evening
• First Alert Weather Days Announced For Winter Storm Sunday-Monday AM
• Sunday Storm: Increased Snow North, Ice South, Intense Mix In Metro

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Tonight: A swiftly moving clipper system might deliver a few light showers across our area this evening, although most will remain dry. Some snowflakes could mix in with the rainfall primarily northeast of St. Louis, but with both ground and air temperatures above freezing, snow will not accumulate, and no travel disruptions are anticipated.

Winter Storm Commences Late Saturday Night, Concludes Monday Morning: A winter storm is set to arrive late Saturday night, with expectations for St. Louis to see it begin between Saturday 10PM and Sunday 3AM. The most substantial snowfall will occur from Sunday morning to mid-afternoon. Areas in the north will experience primarily snow, by which they could receive over 8″+ of accumulation, and a foot or more is possible in those regions. In contrast, certain locations south of St. Louis will predominantly experience freezing rain, with accumulations ranging from a quarter inch to half inch. This amount is significant enough to consider potential power outages in those regions.

In the St. Louis metro…specifying totals is challenging due to the varying precipitation types. However, expect heavier snow and less ice on the northern side of the metro, with potential totals exceeding 6″ depending on precisely what kind of precipitation dominates. Conversely, the southern side of the metro is anticipated to receive less snow and more ice. When referring to ice, it may manifest as sleet or freezing rain. It’s quite complex to determine precisely where each will fall, as it is reliant on slight temperature variations at heights of 4,000 to 7,000 feet.

Sleet: These are ice pellets created from frozen raindrops prior to hitting the ground. Although this can create slick roads, sleet does not pose a threat of power outages and does not render all surfaces slippery like freezing rain.

Freezing rain: This consists of raindrops that freeze upon contact with the ground and surfaces, leading to extremely hazardous and slippery conditions for walking and driving. Ice from freezing rain becomes a threat to power lines when exceeding 0.25″.

The storm will peak Sunday from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. We may experience a lull in activity during the late afternoon to early evening. Following that, the rear end of the storm will bring all snow from Sunday evening until Monday morning.

Although the storm concludes early Monday, temperatures will remain below freezing for approximately one week. Therefore, any remaining snow and/or ice will linger for several days.

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