HOLIDAY RAINS THREATEN; BUSINESSES CLOSE

It may be a little difficult getting to grandmother's house for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, in parts of Missouri and other midwestern states.

A strong, late autumn storm spinning across Oklahoma and Missouri has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a winter storm watch for northern and western parts of Missouri today and tonight.

Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies caution motorists planning to be on the road today and tonight to be prepared for winter weather driving with heavy snow, sleet and ice in parts of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and northern Illinois.

In Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, the weather service says the storm system may produce heavy rains and thunderstorms today and tonight, as it passes to the north of the Cape Girardeau area.

Forecasters say most of the precipitation should end in the region by Thanksgiving Day, but skies will remain mostly cloudy, with a chance of light sprinkles or snow flurries. Highs will be in the mid-40s. The rest of the Thanksgiving holiday period, Friday through Sunday, should be dry, with daytime temperatures in this area recovering from the mid-40s on Friday to the low 50s by the weekend.

Nearly all routine activity will come to a halt for the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal and family get-togethers, the exception being public safety units, hospitals, and other organizations that operate around the clock.

All federal, state, county, and municipal offices will be closed Thursday. In addition, federal, state, county, and some municipal employees will get an extra day off Friday as the offices remain closed.

City offices in Chaffee and Scott City will be closed Thursday and Friday, but city offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will reopen Friday.

The Jackson Public Library will close Friday. Thursday's solid waste pickup route in Jackson will be consolidated with the Friday route. The Jackson landfill will be open Friday.

In Cape Girardeau, Thursday's residential solid waste and recycling routes will be picked up today. Thursday's commercial solid waste routes will also be picked up today. There will be no Wednesday special pickup this week.

There will be no solid waste pickup in Scott City on Thursday or Friday. Residents may double up their normal limit of trash containers on Monday and Tuesday.

In Chaffee, Thursday's residential trash route will be consolidated with the Friday route.

The Cape Girardeau license fee office will be closed Thursday through Saturday, reopening Monday. There will be no driver's examinations given at the Cape Girardeau Naval Reserve Center on Thursday or Friday. Testing will resume on Dec. 3.

The Jackson license fee office will be closed Thursday and Friday, but will be open Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, but only motor vehicle transactions will be handled that day. The Chaffee license fee office will be closed Thursday through Saturday.

All area banks and financial institutions will be closed Thursday, and reopen Friday.

The Cape Girardeau Post Office will be closed Thursday. There will be no home delivery of mail or post office box distribution. There will be no 5 p.m. collection of mail Thursday, but Postmaster Mike Keefe says mail deposited in collection boxes Thursday afternoon will be collected early Friday morning.

All area schools will dismiss later today for the Thanksgiving break, including Southeast Missouri State University. There will be no classes on campus Thursday or Friday. All campus offices will be closed both days as well. The student recreation center and Parker swimming pool will be closed Thursday.

Last year, 15 people were killed in Missouri traffic crashes over the Thanksgiving period. The greatest number ever killed during a Thanksgiving period was 30, in 1965. The least number of fatalities was 3, in 1984.

The Missouri Highway Patrol says in 33 percent of the fatal accidents, one or more of the drivers were speeding. Drinking alcohol by drivers was a contributing circumstance in 40 percent of the fatal crashes. Careless and inattentive driving figured in over half (53 percent) of the accidents involving a death.

To help reduce those figures, the highway patrol and Illinois State Police will have additional troopers on the highways over the entire holiday weekend as part of Operation CARE (Combined Accident Reduction Effort).

The Thanksgiving holiday period begins at 6 p.m. today and ends at midnight Sunday, a total of 102 hours.