REGION IN DEEP FREEZE

After digging out from the heaviest snowfall in 14 years, area residents shivered in record-breaking cold Thursday as the temperature dipped below zero for the first time since 1989.

A record low of minus 2 degrees occurred between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., said a spokesman for Missouri Weather Cooperative at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. That broke the previous Feb. 18 record low of 4 degrees that was set 35 years ago, in 1958, and tied in 1967.

The National Weather Service said the snow cover and a frigid dome of arctic air centered over Missouri was responsible for the record-low temperatures.

According to Missouri Weather Cooperative records, the midnight reading at the airport was 11. It fell to 6 at 3 a.m., 4 at 5 a.m., and 1 degree at 6 a.m. By 7 a.m. the temperature was back up to minus 1. At noon it was only 16 degrees.

Thursday's sub-zero weather was the first here since December 1989, when seven daily record lows were set that month, including minus 11 on Dec. 22; minus 9 on Dec. 23; minus 2 on Dec. 16; and zero on Dec. 24.

Another cold snap in January 1985 sent the temperature here plunging to minus 15 on Jan. 20. During January and February that year there were five mornings when the low was below zero. In January 1984 the temperature dropped to minus 8 and minus 9.

The coldest temperature on record here in over 48 years is minus 18 on Jan. 11, 1977.

Sub-zero readings were common throughout the state on Thursday, and were very slow to rise during the day. It was 7 below in St. Joseph, minus 6 at Columbia, 5 below at Kansas City and Springfield, and 4 below at Kirksville and St. Louis.

Temperatures here were forecast to warm into the low 20s by mid-afternoon Thursday, but were still in the mid-teens as late as 2 p.m.

Skies will become cloudy today with a chance for some freezing rain or snow flurries this morning. There's a chance for rain on Saturday with highs in the mid-40s.

Either rain or snow is possible on Saturday and Sunday, with highs in the lower 30s. More cold weather is forecast Monday, with highs in the 20s and lows in the teens.