Preliminary Ice Storm Update Across Missouri! (credit: NWS Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, Missouri)

DISCUSSION: As the incredibly hyped ice storm began its attack on parts of Missouri as well as areas to the south and west of the "Show Me State," things began getting fairly dicey relatively quickly.  As shown in the middle image (attached above) courtesy of the National Weather Service office located in Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, Missouri, there has been a notable amount of ice accumulation on many different surfaces across parts of far western Missouri.  In addition, as reflected by the respective purple and light blue shading of the major highways across western and southwestern Missouri (in the lower image courtesy of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)), many roads have already become or are quickly becoming increasingly more dangerous to travel along due to the increasing thickness of the regional ice accumulation. This image is current as of the regional Missouri 

It is worth noting (in the reference to the last point made above) that the purple shading indicates roadways which are incredibly dangerous to nearly impassible for motor-vehicles of any type.  Those roadways which are highlighted in a darker blue color indicate road conditions which are marginal but are becoming increasingly more dangerous with time.  Therefore, it is clear from the image attached in the slideshow above that the overall state-wide road conditions across the state of Missouri are becoming increasingly hazardous with time.  If you do not need to absolutely be out and about over the next 24 to 48 hours, do not travel to maximize your personal safety.

To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across North America, be sure to click here!

©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz