A powerful winter storm hit southern Illinois Wednesday, dumping nearly a foot of snow in some places, and covering area roads with snow and ice.
A swath of the area saw 8 to 11 inches of snowfall by daybreak, with a few more inches possible through the day. Over southeast Missouri, 4 to 8 inches was reported.
National Weather Service Lead Forecaster Dan Spaeth says this is the first time the agency has issued a blizzard warning for this region. He says while the bulk of the storm will be gone by mid-day Wednesday, there will be plenty left behind.
"With that volume of snow in your area, that's not going to go away right away. We are expecting more snow - nothing to even begin to compare to what we've just had here over the last several hours - but another inch or so of snow is not out of the question this Friday."
Strong winds will persist through Wednesday. The combination of these gusty winds (35-40mph) and the falling snow and possibly blowing snow may reduce visibility to under a quarter mile at times.
The heavy wet snow and strong winds may bring down some trees and power lines. In addition, shoveling heavy wet snow has caused heart attacks, back problems, and other issues in past winter storms.
