Three Inches of Snow Wednesday Night; Light Snow, Freezing Precip This Afternoon

The Effingham area was visited with three inches of snow Wednesday night, with the promise of up to an additional inch today and some other freezing precip also a possibility.

The snow arrived much earlier than first expected, with heavy snowfall in Effingham between 7pm and 7:30pm. The snow continued to fall through the overnight hours.

Road crews, armed with plenty of advance information about the approaching storm, had major streets plowed by the time of the morning commute. Most schools are open with a couple of exceptions. Altamont, St. Elmo and South Central schools are closed today. Snowfall was heavier in some of those areas farther west as the St. Louis area was visited by a five-inch snowfall.

The snow is expected to be out of the area by the end of the noon hour, although some light freezing drizzle could linger into the later afternoon hours.

The effects of the storm should be short-lived; the forecast calls for sunshine and highs around 40 degrees on Friday.