Local residents are advised: 'Stay home'

SIKESTON - Thursday morning's advice from law enforcement officials was simple: Stay home!

The storm which dropped as much as 9-inches of snow on the ground beginning Wednesday morning has left cars stuck in ditches and stranded motorists.

The Mississippi County Sheriff's Department reported 23 snow-related incident reports during the evening and was working a "pileup" on Highway 62 between Bertrand and Miner early today.

Dispatchers with the New Madrid County said those who braved the roads, then found themselves stuck in the snow drifts, had at least a four-hour wait for a tow-truck. Officials had dispatched assistance for several stranded motorists, assisting them in reaching safety.

Pemiscot and Scott counties were also reporting snow-covered roads with motorists off in the ditches and stranded in drifts along roadways.

"People should just stay home," said one dispatcher. "When it snows that much, they should just stay home."

The Missouri Department of Transportation is reporting roads throughout Southeast Missouri as snow-covered. Even I-55 just south of Sikeston was shut down late Wednesday night.