(CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST LIST OF REPORTED SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND EVENT CANCELLATIONS)
(WGEM) – As the Tri-States begins to clean up from Thursday's winter storm that dumped several inches of snow across the area, road crews continue to work to clear streets as much as possible before the morning commute.
Road crews have been working overnight to clear streets. City of Quincy crews has been on 12-hour shifts with all trucks. MoDOT says crews will continue to work around the clock to plow and treat interstate roads, U.S. highways and other high traffic routes.
Snow emergencies remain in effect for the cities of Quincy and dozens of schools have canceled Friday classes.
The snow emergency in Macomb was cancelled Friday afternoon.
The winter storm rumbled into the Tri-States, giving the area the experience of thundersnow shortly before 11:30 a.m. before eventually leaving anywhere between 5-10 inches of snow across the area.
Road conditions became treacherous quickly. Adams County 9-1-1 Dispatch says between the hours of 11:30 a.m. Thursday-2 a.m. Friday, they processed 263 weather related incidents. The Quincy Police Department handled 225 weather related incidents, and the Adams County Sheriff's Office handled 38 incidents.
Parts of the area also experienced power outages Thursday, with nearly 900 customers in Adams County, and roughly 400 in Brown County, suffering a loss of service for a short period of time Thursday night. Power was restored to all areas by 11 p.m.
The snow made responding to accidents across the area extremely difficult Thursday. The Hannibal Police Department urged residents to stay home as the storm passed. Numerous reports of auto accidents were made, including a pair of accidents that closed southbound lanes of US 61 near Hannibal and Palmyra for several hours.
Lt. John Zerbonia with the Hannibal Police Department says those involved in minor accidents that officers could not immediately respond to should come to the police department when time allows. He also adds that the Marion County Emergency Dispatch requests that the public refrains from calling 9-1-1 for non-emergency issues.
Road conditions on the Illinois side of the river made Illinois 57 "nearly impassable", according to the Illinois State Police, along with traffic coming to a standstill at several spots on I-172 and I-72 through the day. In Brown County, Illinois 99 and 107 were closed temporarily during the day due to auto accidents.
(Click here for links to road condition maps in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa)
While schools attempted to let students out early Thursday, the conditions proved to be too much in Palmyra, as the school district was forced to call back five buses due to the poor road conditions.
Palmyra Superintendent Eric Churchwell said nearly 200 students were taken back to the school building. (See "Palmyra school officials order buses back to school")
In Hannibal, a pair of buses got stuck transporting kids home, including one that had four students on board. None of those students were injured as the bus got stuck, according to Hannibal Public Schools Supt. Jill Janes.
(Learn more about the free WGEM StormTrak Mobile weather app for your Apple or Android device)
Other tips include for traveling during winter weather include:
- Letting someone know your travel route and estimated arrival time.
- Place extra coats, gloves, hats, socks and other cold weather clothing in your vehicle.
- Make sure your vehicle has a full tank of gas before traveling.
- Fully charge your cell phone before leaving and have a car charger with you.
- If your vehicle should become stranded, stay with the vehicle with the engine running and leave the window down slightly to avoid carbon monoxide build-up. If you must abandon the vehicle, leave your personal information on a paper inside the vehicle for officials to later locate you.
