Workers and residents in St. Louis’ Tower Grove South neighborhood are adapting to frigid temperatures and snow that has caused hazardous road conditions.
The record-setting winter storm brought more than 8 inches of snow at St. Louis Lambert International Airport this weekend.
Hartford Coffee Company closed early Monday.
“It hasn't deterred our regular customers from waking over,” Hartford Coffee Company assistant manager Kristofer Claywell said. “We haven't had a lot of auto traffic compared to what we normally would have.”
Jodi Sigler spent the past few days with her two teenage children in their Hartford Street house. They were walking to lunch at the cafe before learning it closed early.
“This is the first time my kids and I are getting out of the house since Friday,” Sigler said with some disappointment.
Side streets across Tower Grove South remained covered in snow while some of the major streets, like Arsenal, had been plowed.
“I haven't been out on the main streets yet, so I'm not sure, but I'm not looking forward to driving,” Sigler said.
Customers left Gustine Market this weekend with vast amounts of groceries, cashier Rich Smith said.
“As we were getting word that snow was coming in, people were coming in and buying, like, baskets full of stuff,” Smith said. “Foods like milk, bread, eggs, then other items like beer, pizzas, salsas.”
St. Louis officials said Monday that the city has plowed around 450 miles of snow routes and that contractors were plowing some residential streets.
By the end of Monday, one lane for eastbound traffic and one for westbound traffic on Delmar Boulevard in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood in north St. Louis were clear. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was also passable. Streets just off those "major arteries" remained covered and untouched. Motorists were still digging their cars out from under the snow that had been pushed up against their cars after plows drove past Sunday.
Colin Kohl spent part of his weekend helping neighbors get their cars out in Tower Grove South.
“When you're back in a neighborhood like this, it's all side roads,” Kohl said. “Morganford looks great, but that's just from traffic over it. Certainly, if you're trying to get out, you know, if you're not able bodied, that's probably challenging.”
Others, like Hartford Street resident Veronica Delgado, had to delay her travel plans to Oklahoma City this past weekend. Her plan is to try the drive Tuesday instead.
“I decided to give it one more day and just kind of see how it goes,” Delgado said. “It made me a little nervous that [St. Louis Public Schools] was online for today, so I was kind of like, ‘OK, if they're not even doing school, then like, maybe I won't go anywhere.’”
But the cold temperatures didn’t stop all St. Louisans from enjoying the winter storm. Some people used Monday to make the trek to Tower Grove Park.
The park was covered in tracks from runners, walkers and cross-country skiers who crossed from one end of the park to the other.
South St. Louis residents Kerry Zimmerman and Art Graves brought their skis out and ran into each other while on their treks.
“I've got about another half-mile to go,” Graves said. “From Grand to Center Drive is a mile, so down there and back.”
Zimmerman said the snow didn’t hinder her ability to get her own work done.
“I can actually still do some work from home,” she said. “I’m probably going to sit on my computer and do a couple hours of work when I get home.”
Temperatures in St. Louis are forecast to hit highs in the 30s this week.
St. Louis Public Radio's Miya Norfleet contributed to this story.
