ST. LOUIS — A winter storm is coming from the southwest and is expected to arrive in the St. Louis area this evening. It should be in the St. Louis metropolitan area by around 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. tonight. The storm will start as rain and then transition to snow at around midnight. The heaviest snow is expected overnight, south of I-70.
One way to tell if a storm near St. Louis is a snowmaker is to track low pressure coming from the south. This storm is on track to do just that. A spin of low pressure moving near Memphis generally means snow near St. Louis. Almost all major local snowstorms have that low surface over the Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll, according to the archives.
St. Louis winter storm timeline:
Rain begins around 8 p.m. in western portions of the viewing area.
A wintry mix is expected near St. Louis at around 9 p.m.
Rain transitions to snow at around midnight.
Snow continues to fall overnight.
Winter weather to disrupt the morning commute.
The Wednesday morning commute will likely be impacted by this storm. The heaviest snow will end in the morning, leaving spots of light snow or even light rain. A snow mix will linger through the day on Wednesday.
The most snow is expected to fall south of I-70 in Missouri and along the I-64 corridor in Illinois. These are areas that are going to see some of the heavier snowfall totals. The snow and rain should move out by noon Wednesday.
What does all that mean for snowfall totals? There will be slightly warmer surface temperatures for this snow to pile on. St. Louis is expected to get four to six inches of snow. The heaviest band of snow will be along the I-44 / I-70 corridor and points south. That’s where we could see five to eight inches of snow in cities like Park Hills, and Sparta.
A winter storm warning begins tonight and will be in effect through Wednesday afternoon. Thursday and Friday are expected to be chilly and dry. The storm system to watch for is Saturday night into Sunday.