Ice Storm Cripples
the Bi-State Area
January 25th-27th, 2004

The winter of 2003/04 has been a benign one for residents of the Bi-State region thus far and folks were beginning to question whether we would experience any "real" winter weather this season. Mother nature answered that questions with a vengeance when freezing rain followed by sleet and snow blanketed our County Warning Area (CWA) from Mid Missouri to West Central Illinois.

As the storm system approached the Mid Mississippi Valley on Saturday, a standing Winter Storm Watch was replaced with a Winter Storm Warning and by Sunday morning, area residents woke to a glaze of ice that was followed by sleet and snow. Accumulations were actually minor, but the combination of freezing rain and sleet made area roads trecherous and had highway crews working overtime trying to keep the main highway arteries cleared. Since the storm hit early Sunday morning, most area residents stayed home and traffic was light, but even with drastically reduced traffic, accidents were numerous.

The next couple of days, January 26th and 27th, yet another disturbance dumped a layer of snow on top of the ice and sleet.