DANGEROUS WINTER STORM EXPECTED
Hyperlocal Extreme Weather - St. Louis, Missouri

Still no changes to our going forecast which we are tired of repeating anyway so let’s just hit on the juicier details of this storm right out of the gate.

Winter Storm Event Day:
Thursday - December 22nd, 2022

White Christmas This Year!

Estimated St. Louis Start Time:
10:00am to 1:00pm
(A couple hours earlier further Northwest)

Snowfall Totals: Nearly an areawide 2 to 4” event for most of our viewing region. Some spotty 5” totals are possible but this thing is scooting along fast and largely shuts down by 6:00pm. This makes high end accumulations very hard to achieve due to the progressive nature of the storm so many areas will fall within the 2 to 3” range and good luck measuring! Getting accurate snow measurements will be hard to do because of all the blowing/drifting snow.

Wind Gusts: 30 to 50mph!
(Blizzard-Like Conditions!)

Temperatures: Start the day in the 30s and plummet amazingly fast by early afternoon and the entire region will be in the SINGLE DIGITS BY 6:00pm with overnight lows going BELOW ZERO! Likely Between -2°F and -7°F!

Dangerous Wind Chills: Cold temperatures and high winds are the major concern. This equates to Wind Chill Values of -15 to -30°F BELOW ZERO!

**Travel is NOT ADVISED Thursday Afternoon**

** BRING YOUR PETS INSIDE!! **

Bottom line: As stated this is a very dangerous winter storm given all the elements particularly due to the high winds creating dangerous wind chills and blowing snow. Snow could down heavy at times creating Near White-Out Conditions. This storm may initially start as a bit of rain or sleet but very quickly go to all snow as temperatures plummet. This leads to flash freeze concerns and the fact that these super cold temperatures could inhibit effective chemical treatment on roadways which may continually get covered with the blowing snow. Unfortunately, as much as we hoped something would change this setup is pretty well locked in at this point. That said be sure to have an emergency preparedness kit handy especially if traveling or in the event of a power outage. Food, Water, Matches, Candles, Charged Celk Phone and Warm Blankets could be life saving! And to end, let’s not forget about all our MODOT/IDOT workers, emergency first responders, healthcare professionals and the homeless who will unfortunately have to be out braving these elements.

Stay safe and be prepared!
-Chad