Snow, frigid temperatures & blizzard-like conditions could be headed toward metro-east
Metro-east residents should start gearing up for a one-two punch of winter weather later this week.
According to Marshall Pfahler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service of St. Louis, the region is under a winter storm watch from Thursday morning through Friday evening and a wind chill watch from Thursday evening until mid-Saturday afternoon.
That all comes with a quick hit of snow, frigid winds and dangerous temperatures that are well below freezing.
“We’re looking at, behind the arctic front that brings in free falling temperatures, a band of snow — possibly heavy at times — coming through the area during Thursday afternoon into early evening. The worst conditions will be a small portion of that time period,” Phaler said Tuesday morning. “We’re also expecting some dangerous wind chills since temperatures will be falling below or near 0 by Friday morning.”
Phaler said the metro-east region can expect anywhere from 1-4 inches of snow, most of which will fall in a two-three hour window Thursday afternoon into the evening.
“Winds also will be pretty strong behind the front and as the snow falls, winds will increase to occasional gusts of 40-50 mph,” Phaler said. “That will lead to considerable blowing and drifting of the snow that’s fallen. It could lead to near blizzard conditions at times especially as main band of snow is moving through Thursday afternoon into early evening. The snow will be exiting the area Thursday evening but blowing snow will continue into Friday due to winds.”
Regarding the wind chills, Phaler said those could plummet to 20 or 30 degrees below zero.
Additionally, Phaler noted these conditions will severely impact the Thursday work commute home to where visibility could be reduced to a quarter mile at times.
“We could be seeing near blizzard conditions at that time,” he said “That includes very reduced visibility. Conditions could be very treacherous for motorists.”
As far as the Friday morning commute, Phaler said, “We should not have any falling snow, but you could still see some blowing and drifting snow. Temperatures will also be very cold in the morning. It’s possible some roads that have been cleared could still have snow back on them. If you have to travel Friday morning, you aren’t in the clear, but it should not be as bad as late Thursday.”
Furthermore, Phaler cautioned people if they do not have to travel, then don’t.
”People should start thinking about what to do to prepare for these conditions,” he said. “People should think about delaying or changing their travel plans to avoid the most dangerous conditions Thursday. People should also be prepared for a prolonged period of cold across the area.”
Phaler also recommended turning faucets on to a drip to avoid pipes freezing.
“That’s probably not a bad idea since we’re talking about such a dramatic cool-down,” he said.
The National Weather Service recommends keeping plugged into the forecast as it develops, www.weather.gov.
This story was originally published December 20, 2022 at 12:30 PM.