Winter Storm — Pulaski, Missouri

2022-02-02 to 2022-02-03 · Pulaski, Missouri

Event narrative

Rain changed to a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow during the early morning hours of February 2 and ended late in the afternoon. After a brief lull, snow began to fall once again late in the evening of February 2 and continued into the afternoon hours February 3. The Cooperative Observer in Fort Leonard wood reported a total of 6.5 inches of sleet and snow. A glaze to as much as a tenth of an inch of ice accumulation was also reported around the county. Roads quickly became ice and snow covered and slippery and there were numerous accidents reported, with 1 indirect fatality on Interstate 44 as a car slid off he highway due to less of control on the snow and ice covered roadway. Schools were closed from February 2 to February 4.

Wider weather episode

A storm system brought several rounds of wintry precipitation to southern Missouri. Rain began falling late in the evening on February 1 and then changed to a period of sleet freezing and then over to all snow during the early morning hours of February 2. There was a lull in the activity during the day February 2, with another round of snow moving in during the evening hours of February 2, with the snow continuing through much of the day February 3. A 3rd round of snow began in the evening of the 3rd and lasted into the early morning hours of February 4 dropping another 1 to 3 inches of snow in some counties across far southern Missouri. Roads during this period became snow and ice covered and hazardous, with most schools closed both February 2 and February 3. Numerous accidents and slide offs were reported. A glaze of ice was reported in most locations with the initial round, with storm total snow and sleet accumulations ranging from 3 to 10 inches, with the lower accumulations over south central Missouri and along the Kansas border. Missouri Highway Patrol Troop D that covers southwest Missouri reported 229 calls, 147 stranded motorists and 51 crashes between from midnight and 8 p.m. on February 3.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1000826. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.