SIKESTON -- The region's first winter storm of the season is slated to hit tonight with freezing rain, sleet, ice and snow in the forecast.
The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., is calling the storm a "significant winter weather event," which is expected late Thursday and Friday.
A winter storm warning is in effect from 3 p.m. Thursday to 6 p.m. Friday for much of Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and parts of Southwest Indiana.
The warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice are expected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible.
"Rain will be coming in some Wednesday night and most of Thursday," said Pat Spoden, science and operations officer for the National Weather Service in Paducah. "Then toward mid-afternoon Thursday -- around 3 p.m. -- temperatures will go below freezing."
Precipitation will likely begin as a mix of freezing rain and sleet that should last through most of the evening, Spoden said.
"Overnight, we're expecting it to change to snow (on Friday)," Spoden said. "Total ice accumulation could be from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch so it will be rough driving. As the snow comes in, we're looking around 4 inches of snow on top of that."
The Weather Service official said the good news is the system is moving faster and colder than forecasters initially thought.
"That means less freezing rain and more snow, which is actually a good thing," Spoden said.
Significant accumulations of sleet, snow and in some areas, ice, will likely result in treacherous driving conditions Thursday night and Friday, Spoden said.
"There will be ice underneath and snow on top of it, and that's not a good combination," Spoden said.
The system is expected to taper off by Friday afternoon until another system moves in Saturday night into Sunday, Spoden said. This will be a mixture of freezing rain and snow as well, he said.
For the complete story, see Thursday's Standard Democrat.