COLUMBIA — Forecasters were anticipating a break in precipitation Thursday evening, but another round of winter weather was expected late tonight, the National Weather Service in St. Louis reported at 4:20 p.m.
The weather service said the next round of wintry weather would continue through Friday morning. The morning's precipitation is expected to come as freezing rain and sleet and slowly change to snow.
The weather service expects 1-3 inches of snow and sleet accumulation with some areas picking up 1/4 inch of ice.
The service has issued a winter storm warning for the area through 6 p.m. Friday.
At 5 p.m., the Missouri Department of Transportation reported that Interstate 70 was partly covered with wintry precipitation.
The latest road conditions can be found here.
At 11:30 a.m., road crews were out and will remain out into the evening hours, said Jill Stedem, spokeswoman for Columbia Public Works.
She said crews are clearing main arteries first then moving to smaller residential streets.
A representative at Columbia Regional airport said that two morning flights, one in and one out of Columbia, were canceled because of weather. At noon, all other flights were expected to be delayed.
Also at noon, emergency personnel had responded to a total of 13 traffic accidents in the county since 6 a.m., said Gale Blomenkamp of the Boone County Fire Protection District.
Two people were transported with minor injuries, he said.
One injury accident occurred on Interstate 70 at mile marker 115 near the Missouri River bridge when a truck ran off the roadway and hit a rock embankment, Blomenkamp said. The driver was transported with complaints of chest pain, Blomenkamp said.
The other injury accident was a rollover that occurred on Route M in southern Boone County, he said. Those injuries were also minor, he said.
Blomenkamp urged people to stay off the roads if possible to allow road crews to work.
“More traffic slows down progress, so people need to stay at home or work and allow road crews to get out,” Blomenkamp said.
Columbia Public Schools opted to close today, according to a text alert sent out by the school district. For the latest closures and cancellations, see the full list at KOMU.com.
For the latest weather forecast, see the Missourian's weather page or the Weather Service Web site.