Winter storm knocks out power to thousands across St. Louis region
Dec 20, 2012 (Menafn - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --The National Weather Service says the St. Louis metro area should see up to an inch of snow in St. Louis city and county, and up to 1 1/2 inches in St. Charles County.
High winds from the storm have knocked out power to thousands of Ameren customers in Missouri. About 12:45 p.m., nearly 5,000 customers were still without electricity, down from 6,500 earlier.
In the Metro East, fewer than 1,000 Illinois customers were without power at 12:45 p.m., down from 3,000 earlier today.
There were also reports of limbs broken off trees and damage to homes from the wind.
Meteorologist Doug Tilly said far western parts of the metro area, such as Warren and Lincoln counties, saw snow at 9:30 a.m. The snow tapered off late Thursday morning and is expected to return to some parts of the area by mid-afternoon.
It will probably take 30 minutes to an hour before the snow starts sticking to the ground, Tilly said. The snow should move out of the St. Louis area by about 6 p.m.
"Getting into the rush hour, it's going to get a little messy," he said.
Farther to the east, in Marion and Fayette counties, they might have some accumulating snow this evening, but should be over by midnight.
Meanwhile, the area is under a wind warning, with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts up to 50 mph.
The snow may not stick around long. Temperatures should peak in the mid to upper 30s on Friday and the mid 40s over the weekend.
Forecasters still say there's a 30 percent chance of snow on Christmas Day and a 50 percent chance that night.
Officials at Lambert St. Louis-International Airport say several flights have been canceled or delayed because of the winter storm.
Deneen Busby, a Lambert spokeswoman, said at noon today that 17 departures were canceled and four were delayed. Twenty arrivals were canceled and three were delayed.
Check back for updates.
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