Missouri, 2018

Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Missouri, January 15 to 16, 2018

January 15 to 16, 2018 · NWS PAH · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Snow developed along an Arctic cold front as it sliced southeast across southeast Miissouri during the morning hours. As the front slowed down over the Tennessee Valley late in the day, a weak surface low developed on the front.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.

Snow developed along an Arctic cold front as it sliced southeast across southeast Miissouri during the morning hours. As the front slowed down over the Tennessee Valley late in the day, a weak surface low developed on the front. This caused snow to persist along and south of U.S. Highway 60 through the evening hours. The result was an area of heavy snowfall from Doniphan east to Sikeston and Charleston southward, where 4 to 8 inches was reported. A few heavy snowfall reports included 8.5 inches at East Prairie (Mississippi County), 7 inches at Charleston, and 5 inches at Poplar Bluff. Across the remainder of southeast Missouri, including Cape Girardeau and Perryville, amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches. Visibility was frequently reduced below one mile in the heavy snowfall area. Much of the snow melted on treated road surfaces during the day, but conditions rapidly deteriorated after dark as temperatures dropped through the 20's. Actual air temperatures fell into the teens as the snow ended. These cold temperatures reduced the effectiveness of road salt, which slowed recovery efforts in the wake of the storm. Scattered traffic accidents were reported, including the Cape Girardeau area. The new snowfall on top of snow from the January 12th storm raised total snow depths to near a foot in the heavy snowfall area.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 15, 3:42 AM CST, 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 15, 3:42 AM CST, 18 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow, 5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Perry

When
January 15, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Perry forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.707, -89.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Bollinger

When
January 15, 7:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Bollinger forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.322, -90.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Cape Girardeau

When
January 15, 7:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Cape Girardeau forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.384, -89.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Carter

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Carter forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
36.941, -90.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Wayne

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.113, -90.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ripley

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Ripley forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
36.653, -90.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Butler

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Butler forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
36.716, -90.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Stoddard

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Stoddard forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
36.856, -89.944 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mississippi

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Mississippi forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
36.828, -89.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Scott

When
January 15, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
37.053, -89.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, New Madrid

When
January 15, 10:00 AM CST to January 16, 2:00 AM CST
Where
New Madrid forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
36.595, -89.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Missouri in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, January 2018

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 728772, 728771, 728773, 728774, 728775, 733359, 733361, 733362, 733363, 733365, 733364.