Local road crews have worked feverishly since Monday afternoon to clear area roads of up to 7 inches of snow, but many remained covered as of Tuesday morning, and more significant snow is in the near-term forecast.
“We pretty well got everything down as far as we could cut it, and we probably got 95% of town done,” said Poplar Bluff Street Department Superintendent Jerry Lawson Tuesday morning.
His crews worked throughout the night to clear city streets and were spending Tuesday “trying to clean up some intersections” and clearing the airport runway for anticipated air traffic later in the day.
Other areas not plowed Monday also were on Tuesday’s agenda, Lawson said.
“We’ve had a couple calls on some dead-end roads and streets we’re trying to go back now and get, now that we’ve got daylight,” Lawson said.
Butler County Highway Department Superintendent Robbie Moore said he’s had 26 staff working the county’s roads.
“We’re getting there. We’ve hit all the asphalt roads numerous times,” Moore said. “We started late (Monday) morning to let it slow down a little bit.
“We hit it around noon (Monday) and again around 4 p.m., and we worked into the night,” Moore said on Tuesday. “We started back up again this morning around 6.”
Every asphalt road in Butler County was plowed again Tuesday morning, and by mid-morning, crews were “starting to hit the gravels.”
“We’re trying to get the gravels at least where they’re passable so people can get in and out,” Moore said. “We’re going to try to have a plow on every road in Butler County by the end of the day, at least one time.”
Highway 67 and Highway 60, according to Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, still was partially to mostly covered in snow at mid-morning Tuesday, and travel remained dangerous.
“I think people are going to look outside and see it’s bright and sunny and think, ‘Oh, we can go do this or that,’” Parrott said. However, he recommends against doing so.
“We’re asking folks if you don’t have to get out, don’t,” Parrott said.
For those who must travel, Parrott recommends they carry extra clothing, plus food and water in their vehicle in case they become stranded.
“Also know where you’re at and call law enforcement, so we can get help out to you,” Parrott said.
On Monday, Troop E of the Highway Patrol had 161 calls for service and saw 112 stranded motorists. Thirteen crashes were recorded, but no injuries were sustained, Parrott said.
“A lot of calls on the interstates were people traveling through who didn’t know it was coming,” said Parrott.
By 8 a.m. Tuesday, Troop E already had responded to 17 calls for service, including 12 stranded motorists and two crashes, with two people injured.
While crews continued to work on area roads, they did so under the threat of more snow Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Much of Southeast Missouri, including Ripley, Carter, Butler, Wayne and Stoddard counties had a winter weather advisory from midnight Tuesday until noon Wednesday.
“Between midnight (Tuesday) and noon is when the snow is expected, and you’ll probably see 1 to 2 inches, and locally 3 inches,” said a representative from the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, Tuesday morning.
More snow could linger in the area until Thursday, however confidence is not high at this time.
“It’s something to watch because there’s the potential for another inch or two,” the representative said.
Though actual temperatures are expected to begin warming slightly over the next few days, the region will continue to see dangerously cold wind chills, according to the National Weather Service.
“The main thing will be the cold through the rest of the workweek,” the representative said. “But it will moderate this weekend and get above freezing.”
Road crews will again be out plowing once the snow stops Wednesday, Moore said.
“It’s a no-win situation for us right now, but we’re battling and we’ll get through,” he said.