6 years, 3 months ago by Scott Hardy
Signals return of colder weather
A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect for the WTAD listening area until Midnight, as a massive cold front is dropping temperatures by 30 degrees over the next few hours.
The National Weather Service says that periods of freezing rain and sleet can be expected through the afternoon, as temperatures will drop to the mid-20's by 5 PM. At 11 AM, the official temperature at Quincy Regional Airport was 55 degrees. You can expect very slippery conditions on sidewalks, roads and bridges, especially during the evening commute. The Weather Service says that a light glaze of ice is expected with little if any snow accumulation.
That's caused the Missouri Department of Transportation's Northeast District to issue a travel advisory for this afternoon and tonight. MoDOT District Engineer Jennifer Hinson says that there's “significant concern" for black ice on roads and bridges. That's despite MoDOT treating those today and tonight. They say their crews will continue to be out in most of northeast Missouri to put down material where it's needed and monitor roads and bridges. Hinson says that the pavement could be deceiving, especially this afternoon and evening.
Numerous schools in the Tri-States dismissed classes early, and canceled afternoon and evening activities. That didn't include the Quincy Public Schools, though. Superintendent Roy Webb tweeted late Thursday morning that "We have been in close contact with emergency management. We feel safe staying in school." Webb did say that QPS will cancel its' extended day after-school program. Tonight's Quincy High School girls' Basketball game in Moline has been postponed to January 23rd. The full list of school cancellations is available here.
Once the weather advisory ends, much colder conditions will remain in the listening area for at least the next week.
