The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill has issued a Winter Storm Watch that will go into effect late Thursday night, January 16 and continue through Friday evening, January 17, 2020.
According to the weather service, A mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain will overspread the region from south to north as a strong storm system approaches the region. This will impact the Friday morning commute as snow transitions to sleet, freezing rain, and then to rain by the early afternoon.
Further north, cold air will linger longer into the day and the transition to rain will occur much later in the day. Heavy mixed precipitation will be possible at times with total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches and ice accumulations of up to two-tenths of an inch possible. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.
The National Weather Service indicates those within the watch area should plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. The transition to rain will occur much later in the day, especially further north and east along the Iowa and Missouri state line.
Counties included in the watch area are Adair, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Cooper, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Howard, Lafayette, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Mercer, Pettis, Putnam, Randolph, Ray, Saline, Schuyler, Sullivan, and Worth counties.
The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill indicates this is a very complex scenario and their confidence is moderate in the overall forecast of precipitation changing from snow to a wintry mix to rain as warmer air moves in, however, confidence is low with the details of the exact timing of the changeover.
