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PrintCOLUMBIA — Winter weather caused more than 100 car accidents in Boone County on Monday afternoon, according to Suzanne Fred of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.
“Since the weather came in, we’ve had between 105 and 110 accidents,” Fred said. About 10 of the accidents caused injuries, she added.
The number of accidents that occurred in Columbia was not available at 6:30 p.m. Monday, a half hour after the day’s winter weather advisory ended, but Lt. Scott Young of the Columbia Police Department said the number of accidents was typical for a snowy day.
Most accidents are caused when “people drive too fast when it’s slick,” Young said.
Although the weather caused problems for drivers, the amount of precipitation in Columbia was minimal. Columbia received 0.02 inches of snow Monday, said Ted Schroeder, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in St. Louis.
But southwest Missouri, including the Springfield, Joplin and Ozark areas, saw a much worse storm that brought freezing rain, sleet and thunderstorms Monday morning. Storms left an icy crust more than an inch thick in places and caused schools and courthouses to close.
The storm prompted Gov. Matt Blunt to cancel a series of news conferences. Blunt had planned to talk in Springfield, Kansas City, St. Joseph, Columbia and St. Louis about a biodiesel mandate and efforts to curb cattle rustling. He also canceled a dinner event in Kennett to speak about economic development at the Chamber of Commerce.
Schroeder said additional precipitation isn’t expected in Columbia until the end of the week. There’s a chance of snow and rain on Thursday night into Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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