St. Louis-area officials are warning that dangerously cold weather will pose health and safety risks this week as the region digs out from a record-setting weekend snowstorm.
Cold conditions will be dangerous Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service, which declared an extreme cold warning for the region through noon Monday. Wind chill values at the start of the workweek could go as low as 23 degrees below zero, with wind gusts approaching 10 mph. Frostbite can set in during those conditions in less than 30 minutes.
“That is extremely cold. There are very dangerous conditions outside,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Herzog. “As we look forward to the rest of this week, that cold is really here to stay. We're going to struggle to get above freezing at all for the next week.”
Snow from the weekend storm will stick around, with the week’s temperatures forecast to peak on Tuesday in the low 30s.
“There's still a lot of extreme temperatures coming, and we still have to deal with wind” that will blow snow around, said Tom Blair, district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s St. Louis district.
The weekend storm dropped a total of just over 8 inches of snow at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The National Weather Service recorded 5.1 inches at the airport on Saturday, breaking a 90-year daily snowfall record for Jan. 24.
Snowy roads
MoDOT teams continue to clear main roadways, but motorists should expect dangerous conditions to persist, department officials said.
“The snow is still going to be on the roadway. It's still going to be dangerous out there,” said Sgt. Andrew Gadberry of the Missouri State Highway Patrol about Monday’s likely conditions. Road conditions are updated on the MoDOT website.
Motorists got out of the way of cleanup efforts during the weekend snowfall by keeping road traffic relatively light, Gadberry said. Troopers responded to 62 stranded drivers and about 40 crashes.
“That's really not a lot for what we've seen in the past. That's just a big thank-you to everybody who stayed in and didn't get out there on the roadways,” Gadberry added.
St. Louis police reported six accidents and no injuries.
The city’s streets department said Sunday that many main arteries were passable and that plow teams were turning their efforts to secondary roads. St. Louis County said on Sunday afternoon that snow-removal teams had been in action around the clock since Friday evening.
Despite the cold, some St. Louisans were out making the most of the snow Sunday, including Sarah and Jerry McNeive and their 5-year-old son Finn, who cruised down a hill on a blue saucer sled in St. Louis’ Compton Hill Reservoir Park.
Sarah McNeive said she hopes snow removal will go better this time than after the January 2025 storm that left roads snow-packed for weeks. The fresh snowfall offers chances for frigid family fun, she added. “We just love being outside in the snow and having fun.”
Schedule changes for Monday
As of Sunday afternoon, school districts across the region had posted notices that classes would not be held in person.
Monday classes are canceled for the Clayton, Kirkwood, Maplewood Richmond Heights, Riverview Gardens and Rolla school districts and East St. Louis School District 189. Virtual learning days are planned for Confluence Academies, St. Louis Public Schools, the Francis Howell and Pattonville districts and Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7.
Other school closings are likely.
City government in St. Louis will be closed for all nonessential activities. Street department workers will continue clearing snow from major roads, and emergency personnel will be on duty.
Municipal trash collection in St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday will be postponed one day. The regular pickup schedule resumes on Wednesday.
St. Louis County will close offices Monday as well.
Ameren reported no widespread power outages as of Sunday afternoon.
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