ST. LOUIS — A storm system will bring a fast hit of a wintry mix to the St. Louis region on Wednesday. While this will not be as intense as the storm we saw in early January, there will be travel impacts starting late morning and continuing through the afternoon commute. With borderline air and road temperatures, I am hopeful roads will improve quickly into tonight and we can get back to normal into Thursday morning.
When is the snow expected?
The snow and sleet will reach our western counties around 7 a.m., metro St. Louis between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., and reach the I-57 corridor in IL by 10 a.m. The prime timing for the worst weather, meaning when we’ll see the most accumulation, is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Again, it’s a fast hit. After 2 p.m., the precipitation is more scattered, but I do think some pockets of snow or snow/sleet showers will be around for the afternoon drive. Spot flurries and clouds will linger this evening and overnight as colder air slides in behind the storm.
For accumulations, the farther north and west you go, the higher the snowfall totals will be. The farther south and east, the more this will be sleet and freezing rain and even all rain on the extreme southeast edge of the St. Louis region.
Storm timeline:
- Snow and sleet arrive: 7-10 a.m. (west to east).
- Worst weather: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Scattered snow/sleet for the evening commute.
Where will the most snow fall?
The heaviest snow (all snow) will fall along and north of a line from near Hermann, Missouri to Carlinville, Illinois, 3 to 5 inches. South of there, there will be a band of mostly snow mixed with some sleet from Owensville, Missouri northeast to Staunton, Illinois that may see 1 to 3 inches. This band includes much of St. Charles County, northwest St. Louis County, and northwest Madison County in the metro St. Louis area.
Along and south of I-44 in MO and I-70 in Illinois and we’ll see a mix of sleet, some snow, and some freezing rain. This zone could see 1-2 inches of mixed precipitation, from Rolla to Festus to Carlyle. South of there, from Ellington to Chester to Mount Vernon, this will be mostly freezing rain with up minor ice accumulations on trees, powerlines, elevated surfaces, and untreated roads.
Expected snow totals
- Highest snow totals (3-5″): North of a Hermann, MO to Carlinville, IL line.
- Moderate snow (1-3″): Owensville, MO to Staunton, IL, including NW St. Louis County.
- Mixed precipitation (1-2″): Along and south of I-44 in MO and I-70 in IL.
Warm-ish ground temperatures and borderline freezing air temperatures may keep ground ice from being significant. Treated surfaces will likely just be wet. Our farthest south communities are expected to just deal with a cold rain.
Check FOX 2’s traffic map for real-time updates.