ST. LOUIS — A high-impact winter storm will affect the region from late Saturday night through Sunday night and early Monday morning. This storm will bring all winter weather types to the region, ranging from heavy snow to the north to significant freezing rain to the south. The transition zone between the two will be across the central portion of the region, very near metro St. Louis.
The energy that will become our storm is still out in the Pacific Ocean and has only been sampled by satellite data, not ground observations. This means shifts in the storm track and intensity are still a good bet over the next couple of days. We will get better observations on this storm starting late Friday.
Regardless of where the transition from snow to sleet to freezing rain occurs, the entire region will experience a weather event that has a major impact on daily activities and travel Sunday into Monday. Power outages will be possible from the ice storm conditions to the south, while travel may become nearly impossible for a time because of sleet and snow along and north of I-70.
It’s still too early for specific snowfall totals, but widespread 6+ inch snowfall is likely with this storm, where it falls as all snow. Where it becomes a mix of sleet and snow, widespread 4+ inch totals of snow and sleet are expected. Either way, major impacts on travel are likely.