As sun shines, refreezing ice and snow still posing hazards for metro-east commuters
Though the National Weather Service forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 32 degrees Tuesday, parts of the metro-east continued to be mostly covered in snow or ice.
A winter storm brought snow, ice, freezing rain and sleet to Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Clinton and Washington counties on Sunday and Monday. The weather service’s local snowfall report showed nearly 7 inches of accumulation in Belleville by Tuesday morning, with similar totals of 6 to 8 inches in the rest of St. Clair and Madison counties.
Major highways remained open early Tuesday, as the Illinois Department of Transportation had snow plows working overnight to clear the mixed precipitation. According to the National Weather Service, nearly a quarter inch of ice had covered the ground in the metro-east by Tuesday morning.
The Missouri Department of Transportation’s traveler information map showed that roads were mostly clear in the St. Louis area ahead of Tuesday’s commute. Hazardous conditions were not expected on Tuesday or for the rest of the week, according to the agency’s forecast.
The MetroLink and MetroBus were operating on schedule and on time, a news release from Metro Transit stated early Tuesday.
Several area schools had already canceled classes for Tuesday in anticipation of re-freezing on Monday night. A full list of closings can be found on KSDK.com.
These are the districts that have canceled school:
▪ Alton District 11.
▪ Belle Valley District 119. The holiday band and chorus concerts for students in fourth- through eighth-grade are rescheduled for Wednesday.
▪ Belleville District 201.
▪ Belleville District 118.
▪ Bethalto District 8.
▪ Brooklyn District 188.
▪ Central District 104.
▪ Collinsville District 10.
▪ Columbia District 4. The final exam schedule will be revised for Columbia High School students.
▪ Dupo District 196.
▪ East St. Louis District 189. After-school activities that were scheduled for Tuesday in East St. Louis have also been canceled.
▪ Edwardsville District 7.
▪ Freeburg District 70.
▪ Freeburg District 77.
▪ Granite City District 9.
▪ Madison District 12.
▪ Marissa District 40.
▪ Mascoutah District 19. High school students’ finals are rescheduled for Wednesday.
▪ O’Fallon District 203.
▪ O’Fallon District 90.
▪ Red Bud District 132.
▪ Roxana District 1.
▪ Triad District 2.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 5:58 AM.
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