Winter weather expected for Columbia Saturday morning

COLUMBIA — The National Weather Service has declared a winter storm watch for most of southwest Missouri, which includes Columbia and extends as far as Sedalia.

Friday will be the last day of sun and highs near 65 degrees. The weather service predicts it will rain after 1 a.m. early Saturday morning, which will likely mix with sleet after 4 a.m. Little to no snow is expected to accumulate Friday night.

But snow and sleet are likely Sunday before 8 a.m. with a high of 38.

“March is a very transitional month. It can be winter one day and spring the next. This doesn’t really surprise us,” said Jim Kramper, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in St. Louis.

Columbia has had 22.7 inches of snowfall total this winter, which is 3.2 inches below average, Kramper said. So far, there has been no snow accumulation in March, when the typical amount is 2.4 inches.

Monday should be back to spring-like weather, with a high around 50 and sunny. For more information, go to the weather service's Web site.