Creve Coeur Prepares For Another Round Of Measurable Snow

Wednesday 10:21 Update: Schools are already announcing snow days for Thursday, as the St. Louis region braces for another round of winter weather. Chaminade, Parkway and Pattonville schools are among districts telling students to stay home. Wednesday night, the National Weather Service forecast was calling for 2-4 inches of snow by Thursday morning, with an additional 2 inches through Thursday afternoon.

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With another bout of icy temperatures and snow already rolling through the St. Louis area Tuesday, city crews in and the Missouri Department of Transportation are working hard to keep motorists safe on the road.  

According to Kara Price, the most immediate threat to the area is a re-freeze on the roads resulting from plummeting temperatures.

“Crews will monitor the roads for slick areas, especially on bridges and ramps,” she said. “Even though they will be treating these areas with salt, motorists are advised to slow down and be cautious.”

In Creve Coeur, public works crews will be on 12-hour shifts starting at 7 am Wednesday. At that point, public works director Jim Heines tells Creve Coeur Patch his team will tally how much road salt the city has at the ready. The city started the snow season with 2500 cubic yards of material and has been waiting for a second shipment to arrive. Heines says this snow season so far could be dubbed a "salt eater" because the snowfall hitting the St. Louis area has been long in duration, along with cold temperatures.

Snow accumulation is forecast to hit the area Wednesday evening and continue through Thursday’s morning rush-hour commute. Tuesday, the National Weather Service was forecasting anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow by Thursday.

“Thursday morning might be very slick and messy,” Price said. MoDOT advises motorists to plan for these conditions and make alternate travel plans such as going into work later in the day or telecommuting.

MoDOT has more than 450 employees and 220 trucks available to plow and salt the roads in St. Louis. It will focus first on plowing the highest-traveled interstates and regionally-significant roads—such as Lindbergh Boulevard, Olive Boulevard and Manchester Road—until they are mostly clear. Less-traveled roads will also be plowed with attention given to hills, curves and intersections.

Motorists are encouraged to check out the online traveler information map at www.modot.org or call MoDOT’s 24-hour toll-free customer service center at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT before traveling.