Another round of wet, wintry weather for area
The Union County area experienced another round of wet, and sometimes frozen, precipitation during the past week.
A winter storm brought snow, sleet and icy glaze to the area on Friday, Feb. 15. Snow, sleet and freezing rain fell during the evening and night time hours.
A total of 2 inches of frozen precipitation was measured in Jonesboro.
In anticipation of the bad weather, Union County’s public school districts dismissed classes early last Friday afternoon.
The frozen precipitation coated area streets, roads and highways just in time for the Friday evening commute.
The National Weather Service office in Paducah reported that on Friday, a low pressure system tracked east-northeast from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Carolinas.
On the north side of the system, widespread rain changed to sleet, snow and freezing rain during the afternoon and evening.
Some of the total snowfall reports in the region included 5 inches in Murphysboro, Carbondale and near Herrin; three inches in Carterville and Marion; 2 inches near Ware; and 1.5 inches near Cape Girardeau.
More Wet, Wintry Weather This Week
Another round of soggy weather and wintry conditions were expected in the region on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Part of the region just north of Union County was under a winter weather advisory on Tuesday.
The weather service was calling for a chance for a wintry mix of precipitation on Tuesday, mainly in the evening.
The forecast called for the precipitation to change to all rain overnight on Tuesday.
Once the rains started, they were expected to produce localized heavy totals, especially in far Southeast Missouri and in Western Kentucky.
Flooding Continues
The weather service reported that minor to moderate flooding was continuing this week on most area rivers.
A flood warning continued this week for the Big Muddy River near Murphysboro.
The Big Muddy River borders part of northwestern Union County.
At 8 p.m. Monday, the Big Muddy River’s stage was at 26.6 feet. Flood stage is 22.0 feet.
Minor flooding was occurring and was in the forecast.
The river was expectd to fall to a stage of 24.3 feet by Wednesday morning. Additional rises are possible later this week.
Local Outlook
The weather service noted on Tuesday that there is “another chance for heavy rainfall late in the work week and over the weekend.
“Additionally, the Storm Prediction Center indicates a risk for strong to possibly severe storms Saturday.”