After a nice day today, get ready for more rain in the Ozarks.
The National Weather Service says several rounds of showers and thuderstorms will move through the area from Tuesday through Thursday night.
With wet soil conditions, additional rain could lead to the potential for excessive rainfall and flooding.
A woman from Springfield will spend several years on probation after pleading guilty to charges of stealing.
Prosecutors say 34-year-old Billie Jean Cummings was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing.
She was also sentenced to 45 days in jail for assault. Both charges were suspended and a judge subsequently gave her five years probation.
Investigators say Cummings and her dog went into a convenience store on January 6 to steal.
Authorities were called to the scene for reports of assault, including her dog attacking people.
When police attempted to arrest Cummings, she began kicking and punching officers, and ordered her dog to attack.
Severe weather season is upon us in the Ozarks, with the Statewide Tornado Drill set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7th.
The KWTO News Team invites you to join us at the annual Severe Weather Expo Saturday, March 4th from 10am-1pm at the J-C Penney East Court at the Battlefield Mall in Springfield.
News Director Don Louzader and Reporter Logan Weber will be on hand to talk about severe weather in southwest Missouri and hand out educational materials from the National Weather Service.
We’ll also have Kevin and Chris from 98-7 The Dove stop by to visit with listeners.
Everyone who stops by the free event will also have a chance to register to win a “Kickoff to Summer Basket.”
We’ll be set up alongside the National Weather Service and Springfield-Greene County Emergency Management, our partners in delivering life-saving information to listeners across the Ozarks during severe weather.
Many areas along and south of I-44 are under flood warnings until Friday afternoon.
The National Weather Service says as of early Friday morning, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain have fallen, with additional amounts up to one half to one inch possible through the morning.
Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood prone locations was either imminent or already occurring.
Several roads have been flooded out, including Highway 125 just north of Highway 60 in the Rogersville area. Other roads closed include the Brushy Creek low water crossing in eastern Taney County, the North Fork River at the Highway EE low water crossing in northeast Douglas County, Highway C at Flat Creek in McDowell, Highway 97 is flooded at the Spring River near Stotts City, Highway AB is closed at the Wolf Creek low water crossing northeast of Mansfield, and Highway Z is flooded at Finley Creek southeast of Fordland.
The Springfield Fire Department is investigating a house fire early Thursday morning.
A resident came home to find his home at the corner of Nettleton and Lee on fire.
That resident was the only occupant.
Nobody was injured.
The house suffered substantial water and smoke damage.
The City of Springfield’s Director of Public Information and Civic Engagement Cora Scott has been named one of ten recipients of the second annual Lieutenant Governor’s Women of Achievement Award.
Cora Scott has been with the City of Springfield since 2012.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Drury University.
The award was established in 2022 by Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe to honor diverse accomplishments of Missouri women in conjunction with Women’s History month.
A teenager from Nixa is charged with four felonies in connection with a pursuit and crash that killed a child in July of 2022.
Prosecutors say Zachary Fargo was formally charged on March 1 for:
Deputies with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office say they attempted a stop on Fargo’s Dodge Charger in Ozark when he began to flea authorities.
The chase continued into Nixa before he crashed into a minivan along Highway 160 near Northview Drive with three occupants inside.
One of those inside the van, 9-year-old Alexander Finley, was killed.
Fargo is being held on a $10,000 bond.
Flooding is a concern from rain falling in the Ozarks tonight into Friday.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for all areas along and South of I-44, including Springfield.
Forecasters say that 2-3 inches of rain are possible, with some localized higher ammounts in South Central Missouri.
Use caution if you are camping or outdoors near waterways. The risk for severe weather is low.
A crash slowed traffic on I-44 Wednesday afternoon.
A semi rilled over in the Westbound lanes of I-44 near exit 88 around 4:15 PM.
Emergency crews say the semi caught fire. Some of the lumbar it was carrying was spilled into the median.
MODOT closed the Westbound lanes while the crash was cleaned up.
A two-year-old boy was struck and killed by a pickup truck in a parking lot near Willow Springs.
The Highway Patrol says the boy walked in front of a parked truck.
The driver did not see the child and pulled forward striking the child.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.