Follow this blog for live, continuing coverage of the winter storm affecting mid-Missouri.4:30 p.m. Columbia Public Schools very much closed tomorrow.
4:01 p.m. We're now looking at a 60% chance of snow overnight. Might see some relief as the sun goes down!
A twitter user informed us that flight 3348 was indeed canceled:
@KBIA yes, if that's the Dallas to COSu flight, it's cancelled, he is driving home from Dallas now
— Real Scott Wilson (@scottawilsons) February 21, 2013
American Airlines' website still shows that the flight is on time but we're inclined to trust the twitter user on this one. That explanation, at least, aligns with common sense.
2:58 p.m. Reporter Casey Morell checked in with the City of Columbia on whether or not that flight is going to come in. Morell asked Steve Sapp with Columbia Public Works, whether an American Airlines flight 3348 is landing or not at COU tonight:
"We will verify that. We understood both of those flights had been canceled system-wide. I would be skeptical that that flight will come in tonight; however, the airport is open. The runways and taxiways have been treated, so the runway at Columbia Regional is open -- at least the main runway. The crosswind runway is not available, so that would be another reason that would lead me to believe that they would likely cancel that flight because if they have to use the crosswind runway, it's not available."
More on this to come.
2:23 p.m. Yesterday, weather reports predicted 3-6 inches in the Columbia area. We're now seeing reports of 8-9 inches already on the ground in Columbia.
Meanwhile, American Airlines and the City of Columbia seem to disagree about the plan today. Earlier today, the City announced that all incoming and outgoing flights from Columbia Regional Airport were canceled. But KBIA reporter Casey Morell found a flight that seems to be still on schedule. AA 3348, which originates in Dallas and arrives at 8:25, is on time and still set to fly. Morell confirmed with the airline over twitter:
@csymrl Our system is showing that it is departing on time, Casey. Please check the following link for updates. http://t.co/G17f5Indrv
— americanair (@AmericanAir) February 21, 2013
1:27 p.m. Most snow plows can only salt or plow a single lane at a time. This is how you do more than one:
That's a TowPlow. We can salt & plow >1 lane @ a time. RT @PrestonKMOV: MODOT's "Superplow" on 55 in Arnold pic.twitter.com/4Y9E7J3JZD
— MoDOT (@MoDOT) February 21, 2013
1:09 p.m. We're getting a ton of traffic reports via twitter right now. Suffice to say that Old-63, Providence Rd., College Ave., and downtown Columbia are bad places to be right now. It's getting to be too much to post here so we're going to recommend you check out these resources.
- Follow us on twitter @kbia and follow the #CoMoSnow hashtag.
- Check out MoDOT's map. It's interactive, so click around.
- Our colleagues at The Missourian have this neat google map with road and weather conditions.
1:03 p.m.: Did you miss the "thundersnow" this morning? Our friends at Missourinet caught some of it on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Sc69nGOiV2Q#!
12:46 p.m. Students at MU's student center are huddled inside, waiting for last scheduled bus of the day:
12:29 p.m. We heard about a pileup on I-70 via twitter but haven't yet confirmed it ourselves:
11:57 a.m. More on the driving situation. Steve Sapp with the City of Columbia, tells our reporters that right now they're only working on plowing 1st and a 2nd priority streets. That means if you need street that's red or green on this map, the city has, or will get to it. But Sapp says anything else won't be plowed till Friday.
11:55 a.m. MU classes closed at 1pm today. Press release here.
11:46 a.m. Here's the driving situation: we've been hearing intermittent reports of stalled traffic along Providence near Mick Deaver via twitter. More to come.
11:42 a.m. Another photo of people trekking through our mini snowpocalypse. We can't get enough.
11:31 a.m. We've been collecting user submitted photos all morning and they're great! But seriously, MoDOT has a point:
Can't believe we have to Tweet this - Do NOT take photos while driving on snow-covered roads. Not safe. Not cool. #MoWX
— MoDOT (@MoDOT) February 21, 2013
11:20 a.m. Are you getting sick of photos of people roughing it through the snow? Us neither:
11:12 a.m. Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency earlier this morning. KBIA'sKris Husted has the full story:
“A severe winter storm continues to bear down on communities across the state,” Nixon said in a release. “Missouri stands ready to help communities in need and to deploy the resources to keep folks safe. I urge all Missourians to keep a close eye on the weather and avoid unnecessary travel.”
10:55 a.m. Since about 10 a.m. this morning Columbia Transit has been on it's emergency schedule. That means that buses are leaving on the hour from Wabash Station and on the half-hour from certain spots. Check the full schedule here.
A few minute ago media were alerted that Columbia Transit is ceasing service altogether at 6:30 p.m. If you rely on this service to get home after work, don't be late!
10:46 a.m. Student Andrew Nichols took this photo at Stankowsky Field just about 10 minutes ago:
9:41 a.m.
SNOW UPDATE: All major routes in the Central District are reported as partly to mostly snow and/or ice covered. http://t.co/CT6fsnSjDe
— MoDOT Central District (@MoDOT_Central) February 21, 2013
9:11 a.m.: All flights in and out of Columbia Regional are now canceled, according to a Facebook post from the city's Department of Public Works.
9:09 a.m.: All Columbia roads are covered, according to the city's Department of Public Works.
Plow operators have reported that road conditions deteriorated very rapidly and all roads are now snow covered... http://t.co/bD0RXZAZkW
— Columbia Public Works (@pub_works) February 21, 2013
9:07 a.m.: Stephens College will close at 10:00 a.m.:
We will be closing campus today at 10am. Be safe everyone!
— Stephens College (@stephenscollege) February 21, 2013
9:02 a.m.: KBIA's Andrew Nichols sent in this photo, taken at 8:43 a.m. outside the University of Missouri Student Recreation Center:
9:00 a.m.: Boone County Fire Dept. posted the following:
#CoMoSnow Update: We have only responded to 1 accident so far with the storm. Thank you to all who stayed home & kept our firefighters safe
— Boone County Fire (@BooneCountyFire) February 21, 2013
8:56 a.m.: National Weather Service radar has the storm reaching Moberly at present and moving toward Kirksville.
8:52 a.m.: Columbia Transit will switch to its emergency schedule at 10:00 a.m.:
8:48 a.m.: Westminster College in Fulton will close at 9:30 a.m. this morning, according to a press release received by KBIA.
8:45 a.m.: The Missouri River Regional Library will close this morning at 10:00 a.m., according to its website.
8:41 a.m.: The Daniel Boone Regional Library system confirms all branches are set to open as scheduled this morning, via a post on its Facebook page.
8:38 a.m.: Lincoln University in Jefferson City has canceled all classes today.
8:30 a.m.: MoDot reporting many roads in and around Columbia and Jefferson City are covered or partially covered.
8:24 a.m.: KBIA's Alexandra Olgin sends us this photo of Ninth Street in downtown Columbia:
8:19 a.m.: All remaining flights departing from Columbia Regional Airport have been canceled. Flight 3396 arriving from Dallas-Fort Worth and flight 3919 arriving from Chicago-O'Hare have also been canceled, but flight 3348, arriving from Dallas-Fort Worth at 8:25 p.m., is still scheduled as on time.
8:16 a.m.: Have you seen snow this morning? Tweet your photos to @KBIA, but at no time should you endanger yourself or others in doing so.
8:10 a.m.: Columbia College has told KBIA that evening classes have been canceled tonight.
7:58 a.m.: American Airlines has canceled flight 3900 from Columbia to Chicago, which would have departed at 1:55 p.m.
7:51 a.m.: Columbia Public Works says trash and recycling services are running as scheduled right now.
Refuse and recycling services are running as scheduled this morning. Delays may occur as snowfall increases.... http://t.co/7797miXt6k
— Columbia Public Works (@pub_works) February 21, 2013
7:49 a.m.: Columbia Transit is on a regular bus schedule at the moment, but says it may change operations later today, depending on the weather:
7:32 a.m.: The Daniel Boone Regional Library has canceled today's bookmobile stop in Auxvasse due to the weather, according to a post on its Facebook page.
7:27 a.m.: MoDot reports some roads around Jefferson City, like Routes B, C and J, are partially covered.
7:17 a.m.: Here's an update from Missouri S&T:
Campus is open this morning but we are monitoring weather conditions. If conditions warrant closure or cancellations, we will notify campus.
— Missouri S&T (@MissouriSandT) February 21, 2013
7:15 a.m.: National Weather Service radar shows the storm approaching Columbia relatively soon.
7:04 a.m.: While Columbia Public Schools are closed, the University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College are all open today.
6:52 a.m.: The National Weather Service radar shows the storm beginning to impact Jefferson City.
6:45 a.m.: MoDot reports many roadways in southwestern Missouri, such as I-44 and I-49, are covered or partially covered. As the storm moves to the northeast, I-70 and U.S. Highway 63 may be added to the list.
6:30 a.m.: Columbia Public Works has posted on Facebook that crews are beginning to treat roads ahead of the storm. The department says drivers this morning will have a clear commute, but to "expect slickness" later today.
6:22 a.m.: The Columbia Regional Airport reports that American Airlines flight 3215 to Dallas-Fort Worth is scheduled to depart on time at 6:45 a.m.
6:15 a.m.: Here's a photo from downtown Columbia at the intersection of Broadway and Hitt earlier this morning, taken around 5:30 a.m. There wasn't much traffic on the road at the time, and there was no precipitation either.
5:55 a.m.: Welcome to KBIA's continuing coverage of the winter storm set to hit much of the state later today. Here's what we know so far:
- The National Weather Service is forecasting anywhere between four and six inches of snow and sleet today in Columbia, with a high temperature of 27 degrees.
- Many schools throughout the region are closed today because of the weather, including Columbia Public Schools, Jefferson City Public Schools and Sedalia Public Schools. Our partners at KOMU have a continuously updating list of closures on their website.
- The city of Columbia has been working since yesterday afternoon to prepare for the storm. Roads have been pretreated to help reduce the chance of ice formation in order to make it safer for drivers.
We will continue to update this page as news becomes available. Tweet pictures of any snow or ice you see to @KBIA, but at no time should you endanger yourself or others in doing so.
