Rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow and even thunder, lightning and hail are accompanying our first winter storm of the season.
Roads north of Springfield have been icy all day Sunday, but with temps dropping below freezing and snow falling, roads in the Springfield area are becoming slick.
Here are the latest road conditions statewide with the MoDOT Traveler Information Map.
Also, we’re getting reports of power outages, especially to the north and east of Springfield.
Get information on power outages in the Ozarks and across Missouri here.
We’ve also had reports of pea to dime size hail with thunderstorms containing thunder and lightning in the city of Nixa, between Springfield and Rogersville along Highway 14, and in Niangua.
Snow will be the main winter threat the rest of the evening in the Springfield area. We’ve had reports of a mix of sleet and snow near Highway 65 and Sunshine just before 4:00 PM Sunday, and most of the Springfield area is seeing snow as of 4:30PM. Flash freezing of roads along the I-44 corridor between Joplin and Springfield will take place, with winds up to 25 miles per hour.
A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect from midnight Sunday night to 10 AM Monday morning for counties along and west of Highway 65, including the city of Springfield.
Remaining ice accumulations will mainly be a glaze from freezing drizzle. Otherwise, drizzle, snow, and sleet will be the dominant precipitation types through tonight. Increased winds could still create impacts for ice covered trees and powerlines.
Snow and sleet amounts ranging from 2-5″ along the Highway 54 corridor to around 1-2″ along the Highway 60 corridor. Far southern Missouri will only see a dusting to half an inch. Blowing snow may reduce visibilities below a mile for brief periods.
High confidence in an anomalously cold arctic airmass settling in next week. Temperatures 15-25 degrees below normal with subzero wind chills Sunday night through Wednesday night.
(Photo of ice on trees in Dallas County courtesy of April Garrett, Dallas County Emergency Management).