For commute home, roads are in good shape, officials say

Winter Storm Warning downgraded but more snow possible

If you're getting ready for the commute home today, the roads are in an improved condition, city officials say. However, more precipitation is in the forecast through Wednesday.

Jefferson City Operations Division Director Britt Smith said streets were in good shape by Wednesday afternoon.

"Our main crews were going since midnight so we let them go around 3 p.m.," he said. "We had a small crew to handle trouble spots overnight."

Smith said because the track of the storm shifted, the snow started early.

"We tried to hold off bringing in the crews as long as we could," he said. "Luckily we did not have a lot of blowing snow."

"The temperatures were a blessing," said Cole County Public Works Director Larry Benz. "Staying above freezing helped us on our salt supply."

Benz and Smith said they were holding their breath to see how bad the next snow event will be, predicted to be a 1-3 inch snowfall Wednesday morning.

The National Weather Service downgraded its earlier Winter Storm Warning on Tuesday afternoon to a Winter Weather Advisory in effect through Wednesday. This statement was issued:

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND FREEZING DRIZZLE... WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST WEDNESDAY.

  • TIMING... OCCASIONAL LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED OVER THE REGION THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THERE WILL BE SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE MIXED IN WITH THE SNOW THIS EVENING.
  • ACCUMULATIONS... UP TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE BY WEDNESDAY EVENING WITH A LIGHT GLAZE OF ICE.
  • WINDS... NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.
  • IMPACTS... THE MIX OF SNOW AND ICE WILL CAUSE HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS...PARTICULARLY ON ROADS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN CLEARED BY THE RECENT SNOW STORM.
  • PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS ISSUED FOR A VARIETY OF WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS... SUCH AS SNOW...BLOWING SNOW...SLEET... OR FREEZING DRIZZLE AND RAIN. IT ONLY TAKES A SMALL AMOUNT OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION TO MAKE ROADS...BRIDGES...SIDEWALKS...AND PARKING LOTS ICY AND DANGEROUS. IT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO TELL WHEN ICE BEGINS TO FORM... SO DO NOT BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD.

See also:

Local forecast, radar, advisory map