Winter weather has hammered the state of Missouri over the weekend.
In fact, as of around 9 p.m. local time, the Missouri State Highway Patrol closed a section of Interstate 29 in both directions between Rockport and U.S. 71. (Between mile marker 110 and 56).
MSHP said the closure was necessary because of treacherous conditions and that they would be looking for stranded motorists in that stretch.
The weather and its affect on the roads has been an issue for Missouri all weekend.
Earlier Sunday, the MHP gave a report as to the number of incidents statewide since the beginning of the weather event early Saturday morning.
“From the Bootheel to Kansas City, we’re responding to calls for help,” MSHP stated on Facebook. “
Missouri Department of Transportation and other road crews are hard at work, but conditions are still extremely dangerous.”
As of Sunday night, the highway patrol had responded to 2,084 calls for service, 1,043 stranded motorists, 356 crashes and 31 injuries, and one fatality.
Fortunately, there had been no fatalities reported as of 6 p.m. CST.
According to an Associated Press report, snow and ice blanketed major roadways in nearly all of Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists who were stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70, as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour (72.42 kilometres per hour). The warning extended to New Jersey for Monday and into early Tuesday.
“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said early Sunday.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
