ST. LOUIS — First came the snow. Then came the crashes, the sledding, the early closures and the drill of a St. Louis snowstorm.
The flakes began falling about 10 a.m. Sunday and whether it's snow or freezing drizzle, the wintry mix was expected to settle in longer than usual.
"Most of our winter storms and our winter events are contained to 12 to 18 hours," Jayson Gosselin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Weldon Spring, said Sunday morning. "This one is expected to be 24 to 30, or even 36 hours."
There have already been several vehicle crashes, shutting down parts of Interstate 70 and Highway 40. And as the storm moved into the city in the afternoon cars were struggling to get up St. Louis city hills and vehicles were spinning out on highways.
By 5 p.m. Sunday, the Missouri Highway Patrol Troop C—which covers St. Louis and the 11 surrounding counties— count had climbed to 152 crashes and 85 stranded motorists.
"It's going to be a busy one," said Kay Thompson, 27, the manager of the America's Best Value Inn in Lake Saint Louis.
Speaking by phone at 11:30 a.m. from the second-story balcony of the hotel, Thompson could see the mess left from a tractor-trailer rig that lost control and hit a pick-up truck on I-70. A few other accidents happened nearby.
"People who were actually in accidents have been calling me for a room," she said. "It's pretty bad.”
Three rounds of wintry weather are headed this way from the west. Snowfall is supposed to die off by late evening, then shift to freezing drizzle overnight through Monday morning. Then a little more snow.
By Monday evening, northern St. Charles County may have 6 to 8 inches of accumulation, while Jefferson County, to the south, may have 2 to 3 inches.
“You've got a big difference, north to south," Gosselin said.
Sun 7am: Here's a summary of what to expect. Don't see your city? Don't worry-- you can visit https://t.co/Qu50Vka1Z6 to see forecast details for any location in the US. #stlwx #midmowx #mowx #ilwx pic.twitter.com/8lDSOdbZDp
— NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) December 15, 2019
About two to four inches of snow fell across the metro area by 4 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
The heaviest rate of snowfall expected in the storm came Sunday afternoon. In northern St. Charles County, snow fell at a rate of nearly two inches an hour about 1:30 p.m.
"Road crews will be out doing the best they can, but when you're seeing rates like that there's no way to keep up," said weather service meteorologist Jon Carney.
Missouri Department of Transportation officials say more than 200 snowplows were poised to treat and clear roadways Sunday.
“We are prepared to be out nonstop until the end," said Shaunda White, a spokesperson for the agency. "Then, of course, there is clean-up mode."
Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-to-upper 20s and, on Monday, should hover around freezing. Slightly higher temperatures are expected later in the week.
We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!
On Sunday, some businesses closed early:
The St. Louis Zoo closed at 1 p.m., and canceled the Wild Lights display Sunday night. Tickets can be redeemed at the door on any remaining night of the lights display, or for a full refund, visit stlzoo.org/wildlights. Two hours later, The Gateway Arch Visitor Center, the Old Courthouse, the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Art Museum all closed.
All branches of both the St. Louis and St. Louis County public libraries were also all closed Sunday because of the storm.
Just in case you're not from here
To deal with the weather, we've grown accustomed to certain things. Like that bad joke your uncle tells you, these things about St. Louis weather ... they're old hat for natives, but might need some explanation for new residents.
Tornado sirens
The outdoor warning siren is used across the country for various reasons. In St. Louis, the distinctive wail signals when it's time to dash to the basement. Or it's just a test, in which case the odd disembodied voice will let you know.
French Toast Map
That Weatherbird is so helpful, he'll even show you how much bread, milk and eggs to get from the grocery store. What do you make with those items? French toast, of course.
What would we do without the Weatherbird?
Also look for TV news highlighting empty bread shelves at the local grocery store. Combine this with shots of people carrying gallons of milk, and you're all set.
'Starm mode!'
You know the weather will be severe when the TV stations enter "storm mode." With our Midwestern accent, it's better as "starm mode."
A map in the corner of the screen? Scrolling list of counties under the weather warning -- or of schools that have canceled classes? That's "starm mode."
#STLwx
Does that cloud look foreboding? Is there hail falling? Make sure to head to Twitter to share, and use St. Louis' favorite hashtag: #stlwx. The wx is an old-school abbreviation for weather. STL is self-explanatory.
Live shots from Tamm Avenue overpass
The frigid TV reporter's gloved hand holds a microphone, and before he or she even says where the live shot is from, you know: the Tamm Avenue overpass. Overlooking I-64 (we all call it 40), the overpass is the place for the "snow is accumulating and traffic is slow" live shot.
Even newspaper photographers head there to take snow pictures. This one is from a storm in February 2014.
Salty
How do you show that crews are preparing for winter weather? Stand in front of a massive pile of salt. Look at it — it's huge and will melt anything it touches.
Elise Amendola • Associated PressSnow days
Is there snow in the forecast? There will be a snow day for some local school district — even if there's just a dusting. This gives non-natives the chance to grump: "When I was a kid, we walked to school barefoot in 10 feet of snow and never had a snow day."
Isabel Guariglia (left) is pulled up by her sister Martha Guariglia, after they spin down the hill on a saucer sled at Deer Creek Park in Maplewood on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. About an inch of snow fell across the area closing some schools, and causing some problems with the morning commute. The women are from Webster Groves. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.co
David CarsonIt'll change
"Don't like the weather? Just wait five minutes."
The fog starts to lift from the lake in Lone Elk Park on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. ForbesIt's not the heat, it's the humidity
Sure, it gets hot in St. Louis. But what really makes us wilt is the humidity. We'll complain about the humid climate here to anyone who will listen — until we go to a drier climate and feel like fish out of water.
Tom Evans of St. Louis embraces the high temperatures on Tuesday, June, 14, 2016, in Tower Grove Park. "The heat doesn't bother me. I have a beverage. I come to the park almost everyday to read," said Evans, who says he reads about two books a week. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Laurie SkrivanPredictions aren't perfect
The weatherman got it wrong! Any time it rains unexpectedly, or snows more/less than predicted, that's the mantra.
Nicole Brown of Hazelwood tries to save her umbrella from strong winds on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, as rain from an afternoon storm began to fall. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Sandbags
Before it floods, we sandbag.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If you're old enough, you have vivid memories of sandbag assembly lines during the 1993 flood.
Image: David Pierce (right), of Union, along with a group of friends and neighbors, put sandbags around the Pacific home of an elderly woman they had just met, on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. Pierce was off from work and decided to come help. Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com
It's going to flood
We live near several rivers, and floods are an annual occurrence. Some areas will flood, despite levees and other sandbag walls. How bad the flood is can be measured by which roads are closed. Highway 141 at Interstate 44? Yea, closes frequently because of floodwater. But when water from the Meramec covered both Interstate 44 and Interstate 55 in December 2015, that's how we knew it was a flood.
On a serious note, if a road is covered with water, do not drive through it. Turn around, don't drown.
Image: A Missouri Department of Transportation worker adjusts cones on a flooded section of south bound Route 141 underneath Interstate-44 after a storm flooded the area on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 near Valley Park. Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com
Huy MachSt. Louis Post-Dispatch
Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by online news editor Mandy St. Amand.