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Snowstorm turns I-44 into demolition derby
By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — It was not business as usual over the weekend for Biellier’s Wrecker Service in Mount Vernon, thanks to a freakish spring storm that dropped a half-foot to a foot of snow across the region.
“We ran the trucks ’round the clock last night,” said Mike Biellier on Sunday. His service covers most of Lawrence County, and 23 miles of Interstate 44 from county line to county line.
“A lot of it was on I-44, but there was a lot of other stuff, too,” he said.
Biellier said about 25 vehicles were pulled from the interstate’s ditches and median. No type of vehicle was spared. Among them were tractor-trailer rigs, a motor home, sport utility vehicles and even a snowplow operated by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“We pulled some SUVs out from Texas,” Biellier said. “They go like that because they can go fine, but they can’t steer or stop any better than anybody else. We had a few young drivers who did not have enough experience on snow.”
A dispatcher with the Missouri State Highway Patrol station at Springfield said Sunday that the exact number of accidents that happened Saturday night along the interstate will be known today, when the reports are compiled.
“We’re still working that,” the dispatcher said. “It was a nightmare last night — the worst I’ve have seen it in a long time.”
Tiffany Allen, a dispatcher with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, said the dispatching center on a typical busy night has about 25 calls. She had 70 calls during her eight-hour shift Saturday night, she said.
“It was the busiest night I’ve ever had,” she said.
The rain, sleet and snow were created by a low-pressure system that spiraled across the Ozarks, bringing with it strong winds and freezing temperatures.
Drew Albert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service forecast office at Springfield, said the snow fell in a band that stretched from north of Cassville in Barry County to near Appleton City in St. Clair County.
Albert said the west side of Greene County received 6 inches of snow while the east side received none.
The deepest snow was measured at Fort Scott, Kan., and north of Jerico Springs in Cedar County. Those areas received a foot of snow.
Most other places in the region, including Joplin, logged about 6 inches of snow.
Albert said much of the snow will melt today as temperatures reach into the low 40s and even more so on Tuesday, when the mercury is expected to climb into the lower 60s.
“The runoff from melting snow could cause some creeks and streams to rise early in the week,” he said. “Motorists need to be watchful for that.”
The next spring storm system will arrive by the middle of the week, Albert said.
Outages
Drew Albert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service forecast office at Springfield, said the snow and freezing rain caused scattered power outages, based on reports the office received from emergency management workers across the region.
Albert said that for a period Sunday afternoon, there were 147 outages in Lawrence County and 123 in Barry County.
- Joplin Metro
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