93.3 KWTO Keeping Watch Over the Ozarks
1:50 p.m. UPDATE: Multiple crashes have shut down lanes along I-44 from the Oklahoma state line to near Cuba.
There’s been a crash involving multiple vehicles, including tractor trailers, blocking eastbound Interstate 44 east of Lebanon.
The wreck is at the 143 mile marker past the Stoutland exit. Both the left and right lanes are closed.
Backups are estimated at two miles, and crews estimate it could take up to six hours to clear the wreck.
Motorists headed east on the interstate are being asked to exit at the 129 Lebanon exit.
Another crash is being worked westbound on the interstate near the Oklahoma line just past the Downstream exit at the 0.2 mile marker.
And both eastbound lanes of I-44 are shut down at the 205 mile marker near Cuba. The estimated backup is two miles.
One spotter says they traveled from Rogersville to Seymour, with visibility of 100 to 200 feet the entire way. The road was plowed and mostly clear.
2.1 inches of snow have been measured in Republic, with 1.9 inches in Northview (Webster County) and 1.0 inch in Shell Knob. 2.0 inches of snow are on the ground in Joplin and 2.0 inches in Rocky Comfort (McDonald County).
10:45 a.m. UPDATE: The National Weather Service says snowfall intensity will be increasing across the Springfield Metro through 1:30 p.m. Visibilities will be reduced to less than 1/4 mile at times due to falling and blowing snow. Wind chills of -13 to -25 will occur. Snow intensity is picking up along the I-44 corridor west of Springfield. The snow is increasing along the remainder of the I-44 corridor from Mount Vernon to Springfield to Lebanon to Fort Leonard Wood and Rolla.
The Ozarks first winter storm of the season is making travel challenging, even with relatively small amounts of snow accumulation.
The National Weather Service says a Winter Storm Warning is now in effect until midnight for all of southwest and south-central Missouri.
Forecasters say they are becoming increasingly confident that a one to three hour duration of moderate to heavy snow and blowing snow will impact the entire region.
This is on top of the one to two hours of freezing drizzle before the snow arrives.
Visibilities will fall to around 1/4 mile at times across these far southern Missouri counties with occasional near white out conditions.
One to three inches of snow are possible in these areas, with the best snow chances from late morning into the early afternoon, when moderate to heavy snow is possible as well as wind gusts of 35 to 45 miles per hour, causing blowing snow and very low visibility.
Some areas in central Missouri could see around four inches of snow.
The front moved through Springfield around 6:00 a.m. Thursday, taking temps from 37 down to 27 degrees with a wind chill of 12.
Those temps and wind chills will continue to drop throughout the day.
Wind chills by the early afternoon will range from the teens in the southeastern Ozarks to round -15 near Springfield, to around -20 to -25 in the northwestern Ozarks.
Dangerously cold wind chills will continue Thursday night, with readings from -25 to -32.
Blowing snow will make travel difficult in several parts of the state.
Get updated statewide road conditions here with the MoDOT Traveler Information Map.
Stay tuned to 93-3 A-M 560 KWTO for continuing coverage of the winter storm.