A historic weather event is upon us, according to those who spoke at a media briefing hosted by the City of Springfield Tuesday.
“This is a rare event. It’s been since 1989 since we’ve seen temperatures, wind chill this cold,” said Steve Runnels with the National Weather Service, “and going back 75 years when we had seven days in which the wind chill has been this cold in Springfield.”
That historic weather event begins Thursday morning, Runnels said.
“Starting at 6 a.m., temperatures are going to be right around the freezing mark. But by 9 o’clock, the temperature is going to drop to 20 with the wind chill below zero,” he said. “By noon, the temperature will be 6 (degrees) with the wind chill at -15. Then by 6 p.m., the temperature will be zero with the wind chill in the minus 20s.”
Runnels said snowfall totals of 2 to 4 inches will be common across Springfield, but it will be almost impossible to measure with winds blowing and gusting 30 to 50 miles per hour.
“That in itself is perhaps going to be the major story from this particular event,” Runnels said. “We urge everybody to be prepared.”
According to the National Weather Service, Thursday night’s low temperature will be around 7 degrees below zero. Friday’s high will be around 8 degrees and the low will be around 1 below, while Saturday’s high will be around 16 with a low around 3 degrees.
Larry Woods, the director of Springfield Greene County Office of Emergency Management, also urged the public to prepare for the upcoming weather event.
“It’s not just any winter storm,” Woods warned. “Preparedness is the key. We’ve got plenty of time as a community to prepare for this event. Now is the time to get your personal affairs, your personal plans ready to go.”
Woods encouraged the public to make sure homes and vehicles are ready and winterized and to make sure plumbing is properly insulated. He also urges the public to stay home if possible and to check on neighbors, especially any elderly neighbors.
“Most importantly of anything I say: Limit your exposure. We know with these cold temperatures, frostbite and hypothermia can occur very quickly,” he said. “Dress in layers and stay where it’s warm as much as possible.”
Springfield Fire Chief David Pennington said one of his major concerns when extreme winter weather sets in is people “get creative with attempts to stay warm.”
“If you are finding that you need to use a space heater, always plug those directly into a wall, not into a power strip or some other device,” Pennington said. “Make sure you’ve got cleared space around those, whether it's electric space heaters or a kerosene or gas-powered heater.
“If you are using kerosene, make sure you are always filling those outdoors,” he added, “and you are using those in well-ventilated areas.”
Community Partnership of the Ozarks’ Michelle Garand, who is also part of the Crisis Cold Weather Shelter Committee, spoke at the briefing about the plans to open more shelter spaces and warming centers for Springfield’s unsheltered community.
Learn more about those efforts here.
Both CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield are working to create bed spaces for employees who plan to sleep at the hospitals so they don’t have to worry about dangerous driving conditions.
