A Historic Winter Storm..

A very powerful and historic winter storm is taking aim on the region and that is the obvious focus for today's blog.

Today's weather will be mild compared to the events that will occur from Tuesday through Wednesday. Clouds will stick around the region today and eventually, we'll get some light freezing drizzle/rain later this afternoon. Roads will become slick through the evening rush hour and eventually, the precipitation will come to an end late tonight. Highs today will climb into the upper 20s and lower 30s.

Late tonight (after midnight), we'll get another round of light wintry precipitation - mainly drizzle, sleet and light snow. This precipitation will make roads slick late tonight and early tomorrow morning. By 8am Tuesday, expect an inch or two of sleet/snow accumulation.

**After 10am Tuesday, travel will become IMPOSSIBLE!** For everyone's safety, it is recommended to just stay home on Tuesday to avoid getting stranded in the near white-out conditions. Because of the thundersnow potential, snowfall rates of up to 1" to 2" per hour will be common on Tuesday. Snowfall amounts by late evening/early Wednesday morning will be between 12" and 16."




Once the snow comes to an end on Wednesday, significant wind (North 15-30 mph) will create blowing and drifting snow and snow drifts will easily reach the 3'-4' range, especially in rural and open areas. This will send wind chills well below zero, we are looking at them around -20 degrees.

The bottom line is this: A POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT A LARGE PORTION OF THE REGION TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

In addition to the snow...strong northerly winds of 25 to 35 mph will create near blizzard conditions Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night...with significant blowing and drifting snow. Travel will become difficult to near impossible...and the combination of heavy snow and wind may lead to power outages.

In the wake of this snow storm...an arctic air mass will overspread the region...sending temperatures well below zero by midweek...along with dangerously cold wind chills. Given the lasting impacts of the winter storm...persons should make sure they have an adequate supply of food and medication...as well as an alternate heat source should electrical power become unavailable. Please be safe out there everyone!

As always, you can get up-to-date weather information and weather related closings on www.komu.com.

Follow the First Alert Weather Team on Twitter:
Dave Schmidt - @KOMUDopplerDave
Eric Aldrich - @KOMUEric
Michelle Bogowith - @MBogowith

Also, for any closings you can follow @komuclosings on Twitter!

The Approaching Winter Storm

Hello All! After crazy weather with measurable snowfall amounts early last week, it seems that another winter storm is brewing.

Our attention now turns toward a new storm system that will likely produce accumulating snowfall and colder temperatures for Mid-Missouri on Wednesday evening into Thursday. It is interesting to note here that this storm system looks very similar to the storm system that moved through the region last week (Monday - Tuesday). Hence, the snowfall amounts and other characteristics of this storm will be of some resemblance.

At this point, it looks like snow will begin late Wednesday afternoon/evening and continue throughout the morning hours on Thursday. Snowfall amounts look to be in the 3"-7" range by the time the snow winds down on Thursday morning/afternoon.

After that, temperatures will drop quickly, and we'll be frigid through the weekend. Highs Friday in the upper teens, and lower 20s for Saturday and Sunday. At least we will be precip free.

You can always follow the First Alert Weather Team on Twitter at: KOMUDopplerDave, komuEric and MBogowith. Additionally, up-to-date and interactive maps are available at www.komu.com/weather