Winter Storm in Missouri, January 28 to 30, 2010

The Mid-South had a favorable set-up for winter weather during the time frame of January 28th-January 30th, 2010. A cold front moved through the area on January 27th allowing cold arctic air to filter into the region behind the front. Meanwhile, a powerful low pressure system developed over the Southwestern United States. The system pushed east into Texas and eventually in the Lower Mississippi Valley bringing abundant moisture to the area. Precipitation, mainly in the form of freezing rain, began over Northeast Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel during the late evening hours of January 28th. The precipitation spread east during the morning of January 29th and became heavier producing a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow over much of the Mid-South with the exception of extreme southern portions of the Mid-South. As the air cooled further, precipitation switched to all snow. However, temperatures began to warm during the afternoon and evening hours changing precipitation back to freezing rain, sleet or just rain. Precipitation tapered off to freezing drizzle or flurries by the early morning hours of January 30th. The winter weather produced treacherous roads which caused many accidents. In addition, accumulations of ice produced numerous downed trees and power lines resulting in many power outages. Total snow accumulations across the Missouri Bootheel ranged from seven to ten inches on top of a tenth to a half inch of ice.