A winter storm watch has been issued for Butler County and officials are urging caution on the roads during the overnight hours and Friday morning commute.
Sleet and snow accumulations of up to two inches are predicted by the National Weather Service, which has issued the watch through noon Friday.
It will be difficult to treat roads with salt prior to the system because of expected rain, which would wash away any material put down to prepare roads, officials cautioned today.
Butler County highway crews have equipment ready and will monitor the weather overnight, highway superintendent Gary McDonald said today.
The Poplar Bluff Street Department will also monitor the situation, said city manager Mark Massingham. The city normally does not put salt out if rain is forecast before a winter weather event, because it does no good, he said.
Thunderstorms are possible in Southeast Missouri, with rain changing to freezing rain and sleet mainly after midnight, the NWS reports.
Wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour could occur overnight, as temperatures plummet from a high today of 61 to a low of 23 tonight.
Sleet and freezing rain are expected to change to snow after 5 a.m.
Temperatures are expected to remain below freezing until Monday and windchills as low as -10 degrees are forecast.
Butler County currently has no overnight warming centers available, Emergency Management Director Robbie Myers said today.
The Butler County Health Department serves as a local warming center during normal business hours.
A Vietnam veteran was found dead Saturday of exposure in an unheated home on Park Avenue in Poplar Bluff. A graveside service will be held today for Carl Ray at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.
Other warming centers by city are: in Qulin, Mo., the Qulin Community Senior Citizens Center at 485 D Street; in Williamsville, Mo., the Williamsville Senior Center located east of the intersection of Highway 49 and Williamsville; in Puxico, the Puxico Oaks Senior Center at 335 N. Harty Street; and in Carter County, the East Carter Senior Center at 20 Noble Street in Ellsinore, Mo.