Month: December 2022

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for areas along and north of Highway 60, including Springfield, from Thursday morning through midnight Thursday night.

The National Weather Service says the fast-moving storm will dump one to three inches of snow, with a few pockets of four to five inches possible.

Snow amounts will drop off south of Springfield.

The snow will begin falling in the Springfield area during the morning drive around 6-7 a.m., with the highest impact times expected from mid morning through late afternoon.

Most of the snow will end by the evening commute, but wind chill gusts will keep the blowing snow threat going.

Temps will drop dramatically during the morning and afternoon hours. A Wind Chill Warning is in effect from Noon Thursday through Noon on Saturday, with wind chills dropping as low as -35 on Friday morning.

We’ll keep you up to date with the winter storm with updates throughout the day on 93-3 and AM 560 KWTO.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley says the U-S Army is committing $91 million-dollars to improving housing at Ft. Leonard Wood.

The government will spend $41 million in 2023 and another $50 million in 2024.

Senator Hawley was one of many senate members pressing the U-S Army to improve housing conditions at the post.

The U-S Army plans to replace the aging houses on post.

City officials are scheduling a press conference to prepare Springfield residents for the winter storm heading towards the Ozarks.

Reports say the press conference will be held at the Greene County Public Safety Center on West Scott Street in Springfield at approximately 3 p.m.

Spokespeople for the following entities will be present:

• City of Springfield
• Springfield Fire Department
• City Utilities
• National Weather Service
• Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management

Officials are describing the front as a “severe weather event” with temperatures dipping below zero and up to five inches of snowfall.

If you would like to watch, click here for a live stream of the press conference.

Travel impacts are expected from the winter storm that’s set to hit the Ozarks on Thursday.

The National Weather Service says a Winter Storm Watch is in effect for the northern Ozarks.

Along and north of a line from Nevada to Osage Beach, three or more inches of snow are possible.

We’re looking at one to three inches in the Springfield area, with lesser amounts south of I-44.

Forecasters say we’ll all experience dangerous wind chills as low as -25 to -35, creating near whiteout conditions.

A Wind Chill Watch is in effect for all of southwest Missouri from late Wednesday night through Saturday morning.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson is scheduled to announce the state’s next treasurer at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

The appointment comes after current State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick vacates the position for the State Auditor’s seat.

It will be the Governor’s second appointment for state treasurer, after Parson appointed Fitzpatrick in 2018 to replace Eric Schmitt, who was appointed to the position of Attorney General after Josh Hawley won election to the U-S Senate.

The announcement will be streamed live on the Governor’s Facebook page.

Watch live streaming video of Governor Parson’s announcement here at 3:00 p.m.

Investigators in Marionville are releasing the identity of a person killed in a car crash over the weekend.

Reports say Aurora resident Penny Miller was the passenger in a vehicle that was turning onto Highway 60 when it was hit by an SUV Saturday afternoon

Miller was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the car, Jimmy Miller, suffered unspecified injuries.

The driver of the SUV was not injured.

A winter storm appears to be headed for the Ozarks on Thursday, with accumulating snowfall becoming increasingly likely, along with bitterly cold temps and dangerous wind chills.

The National Weather Service says from a probabilistic standpoint, the trend continues upward in accumulating snowfall potential for Thursday.

There’s a 60-80% probability of greater than two inches, a 40-60% probability of greater than four inches, and a 20-40% probability of greater than six inches of snow.

Despite the increasing probabilities, there remains uncertainties that will impact the details of this system, including the exact track of the low and minor timing differences.

The details of the system will be assessed over the coming days, including potential snowfall amounts, blowing snow potential, snow ratios and travel impacts.

Forecasters say given the high confidence in a cold airmass settling into the region, snow that does fall will likely accumulate.

Confidence in at least minor travel impacts is high, with lower confidence in moderate impacts.

More snow is expected north and east of I-44 toward central Missouri and the St. Louis region.

One thing that is even more certain is dangerously cold air will filter into our area Thursday.

Expect the high temperature on Thursday to occur near midnight as temps plummet the remainder of the day.

The weather service says while there remains some minor timing differences on frontal passage, the general consensus is for temperatures in the single digits to teens by Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, wind gusts approaching 30 to 45 miles per hour will result in wind chills ranging from -15 to -30 areawide.

Lows Thursday night will fall below zero, with many locations at or below -5.

Wind chills of 25 to 30 below appear likely heading into Friday morning.

Frostbite can occur in 15 minutes or less in these conditions, which will pose a high threat to vulnerable populations, such as those without sufficient shelter or warming.

The weather service says the bitter cold continues into Friday, with highs only hitting the single digits, with dangerous wind chills.

Another cold night of lows below zero is expected Friday night.

The bitter cold weather is expected to continue through the Christmas weekend with highs on Saturday in the teens and Christmas Day highs in the 20’s.

A return to near normal temps is expected heading into next week.

A man is in custody after allegedly shooting at Polk County Deputies.

Reports say authorities arrived at a home on 77th Road near Highway 125 after reports of a structure fire Monday morning.

Deputies say when they arrived, the owner of the home was seen fleeing the home armed with multiple firearms, and fired several shots at officers.

The suspect then disappeared into a wooded area near the scene.

Deputies reportedly set up a perimeter around the area, and requested air support assistance from the Highway Patrol.

Reports say the suspect was located a short time later and was arrested without further incident.

The homeowner’s identity has not been released at this time.

Minimal impacts are expected from a mix of light rain and snow that’s expected to overspread areas along and west of Highway 65 early Monday morning.

The National Weather Service says light precipitation looks to break out across southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma around after 3 a.m. Monday.

By around 6 a.m., this activity will likely be along the Missouri/Kansas border.

Temps will be in the lower 30’s near the area of precipitation.

Forecasters say there will be dry air to overcome, with precip chances dropping off quickly as you head east of Interstate 49.

Areas along and east of Highway 65 are expected to see little if any rain or snow Monday morning.

The precipitation will likely be a mix of rain and slushy wet snow, with amounts generally a dusting or less.

The weather service says confidence is high this will be a very minimal snowfall event.

Most of the snow will fall on grassy surfaces, but forecasters can’t rule out a small accumulation on bridges and overpasses in western Missouri.

Attention then turns to later in the week as an arctic blast moves into the area Thursday morning, sending temps well below freezing, dropping from the 20’s early in the day to the single digits by late in the day.

Wind chill readings could potentially be as low as 25 below zero by Thursday night into Friday morning, creating a dangerous cold spell.

Highs in the single digits are likely on Friday with a slow climb upward each day.

As the arctic front drops into the area Thursday morning, the weather service says a surface low will likely develop near or just south of the area.

While the exact placement of this low is uncertain, there is currently an 80% chance for at least a dusting of snow, especially in the northeastern half of the Ozarks.

Probabilities for one inch of snow are also greater than 50%.

There are increasing chances for at least minor impacts from Thursday’s snow as it would occur in a very cold airmass with a cold ground.

We’ll keep you up to date with the latest weather information and any advisories or warnings issued by the National Weather Service on 93-3 A-M 560 KWTO.

The Missouri State Bears have moved quickly to name a new head football coach after learning Bobby Petrino is leaving to become the offensive coordinator at UNLV.

Athletic Director Kyle Moats says MSU Defensive Coordinator Ryan Beard will be promoted to the head coaching position, and will be officially introduced at a news conference Monday at 11:00 a.m.

𝐖𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐲!

We are extremely excited to announce Ryan Beard as the 22nd head coach of Missouri State Bears football! pic.twitter.com/uLA1xsZmMl

— MO STATE Football (@MOStateFootball) December 16, 2022

Here’s the full release from M-S-U Athletics:

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State defensive coordinator Ryan Beard will be promoted to the position of head football coach, Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced Friday. Beard will be officially introduced at a news conference on Monday, Dec.19 at 11 a.m.

“I look forward to working with Ryan in this capacity and continuing our success under his guidance,” said Moats. “He is a young, dynamic coach who understands the nuance of today’s recruiting world. He has worked with some of the best coaches in college football during his coaching career, including the likes of Willie Taggert, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain and of course Bobby Petrino. He loves Springfield, and he wants to elevate our program to bigger and better things.”

Beard joined former coach Bobby Petrino‘s MSU staff early in 2020 and has played a significant role in Missouri State’s recent resurgence on the gridiron. He has managed a Bears defensive unit that has boasted 14 all-conference selections, three All-Americans and two professional players in his tenure as defensive coordinator while helping push the program to national prominence.

In his first campaign in Springfield in 2020-21, Beard and his defensive unit broke a program record for sacks (27), created 15 turnovers, and held every MVFC foe under 30 points for the first time since 1989. That inaugural season culminated in the Bears owning a share of the Valley championship and earning an NCAA playoff berth for the first time in 30 years. In his second year, the Bears topped the club sack record again (30), racked up 25 takeaways and secured 15 interceptions. In addition to making a second straight NCAA playoff appearance in 2021, MSU finished second in the MVFC standings, ranked ninth nationally in turnovers gained and finished 14th in interceptions per game.

The 2022 Bears defense gave up just 15.8 points per game over their last four games with defensive end Kevin Ellis leading the nation in fumble recoveries, and four MSU defenders earning all-conference laurels.

Before coming to Springfield, Beard served stints as an assistant coach at Central Michigan (2019), Louisville (2017-18) and Western Kentucky (2016) after a successful playing career at WKU that included two terms on the All-Sun Belt Team.

“It was important to me to keep the continuity of this staff based on the team’s recent success,” said Moats. “The strides we have made in recruiting under Ryan’s direction have been significant, and he understands what it takes to win in this league. Coach Beard enthusiastically wanted this job, and he believes in Missouri State.”

Beard, 33, becomes Missouri State’s 22^nd head football coach. He replaced Petrino who accepted the position of offensive coordinator at UNLV on Thursday after leading the program for the past three years.

Monday’s news conference will take place in the Prime Overtime Club at Great Southern Bank Arena. The public is invited to attend.