The Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation, as well as local St. Louis transportation services, are working hard to deal with the effects of Sunday’s blowing and drifting snow.
St. Louis mayor Francis Slay says the major roads should be passable on Monday morning, but “it’s going to be slow, it’s going to be messy, it’s going to be inconvenient. And in many cases, because of the slick weather, the wind and the cold weather it’s going to be dangerous."
Officials are urging drivers to stay off the roads in the meantime, and asking that cars not be parked on the street, where they could hamper snow plows.
Todd Waelterman, director of St. Louis Streets, says snowplows, along with the high winds, can create drifts up to five feet high.
“We’re going to be towing these cars as they get caught in these drifts. The [drifts] that we create on the side of the road, until we get those broke down, you’re going to see cars get hung up on them,” said Waelterman. “We can restore the streets quicker when these cars aren’t out there.”
Due to the extreme low temperatures, both the city and county have emergency warming centers open through Tuesday night for anyone who needs them.