Predicted wintry weather forces many closures

Cape Girardeau and Jackson school districts dismissed students early Wednesday due to predicted inclement weather in the area.

According to The Weather Channel website, portions of Southeast Missouri and Illinois area will accumulate 2-5 inches of snow and .1 of an inch of ice, beginning Wednesday afternoon and carrying over into Thursday.

Cape Girardeau School Districts dismissed all students at their locations between 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and all afternoon activities were canceled. Officials announced Wednesday evening the school would be closed Thursday.

Jackson School District dismissed at noon, and all after-school programs were canceled. The school's Facebook page noted, "We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Safety is our top priority."

Certain city of Cape Girardeau municipal buildings will be closed Thursday.

City Hall and administrative offices of Parks and Recreation, Cape Girardeau Police Department, utility billing and court buildings are closed.

Community centers and recreational facilities including the Osage Centre, Shawnee Park Center, Central Municipal Pool and Cape Girardeau Sportsplex also closed.

Public safety services will remain in action.

City officials said to anticipate possible delays in trash and recycling collections.

Those affected by court closures will receive a new date.

Jackson municipal officials announced a Snow Route Proclamation on Wednesday afternoon.

Such a proclamation affects parking on certain city streets to allow for snow plowing. To view which streets, visit www.jacksonmo.org//FileStream.aspx?FileID=51.

Cape Girardeau County government offices will be closed Thursday, as will courts in the county.

Major storm

The Weather Channel website states the winter storm warning for the area is in effect from 6 a.m. Wednesday to midnight on Thursday, and the storm is expected to cause possible power outages due to the ice, wind and tree damage. The period of highest accumulation is currently predicted to occur between Wednsday and noon on Thursday. Travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary because of hazardous road conditions.

The National Weather Service said that as of noon Wednesday, Columbia, Missouri, received about 5 inches of snow and Jefferson City, Missouri, had 6 inches. The St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, areas were generally reporting 3 inches to 4 inches of snow.

In Kansas, Wichita had reported up to 6 inches of snow, while Topeka reported nearly 4 inches.

The storm system also brought arctic temperatures, leading the weather service to issue an advisory warning of wind chills as low as 20 below zero.

Most school districts and government operations were closed on Wednesday and Thursday across the region. Hundred of flights were cancelled and Amtrak also shut down its trains between St. Louis and Kansas City for Wednesday and Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report