A snow and blowing snow advisory has been posted for Columbia and much of the northern two-thirds of Missouri from 6 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday.
The National Weather Service, in a bulletin issued Friday afternoon, said a low pressure "clipper" system moving south will spread snow across the area this evening. Periods of light to moderate snow are possible into early Saturday morning, with accumulations of 1 to locally 5 inches.
Southwest winds ahead of the low gusting to 30 mph are expected this evening, with northwest winds behind the storm gusting to 35 mph overnight.
"The combination of falling and blowing snow will reduce visibilities below one mile and locally create near-blizzard or white out conditions," the Weather Service in St. Louis advised. The high winds will cause the snow that falls to blow and drift, creating hazardous travel conditions.
For the latest information from the Weather Service, go to www.crh.noaa.gov and enter your city or zip code.