With sleet and snow beginning to fall in Springfield, Missouri State University announced at 11:35 a.m. that Springfield classes, including online classes, beginning at or after 1 p.m. on Wednesday are canceled and that MSU offices will close at 1 p.m. as well.
Citing the looming winter storm, Springfield Public Schools canceled classes altogether on Feb. 23.
Sleet-covered roads are being reported across southwest Missouri Wednesday, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. A winter storm warning is in effect along and southeast of the Interstate 44 corridor, including Springfield, according to the National Weather Service.
“This is going to be for a mix of sleet and freezing rain,” NWS Springfield lead forecaster Mark Burchfield said during a Facebook Live update at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. “We’re really going to have two waves of sleet and snow (and) freezing rain move through — today and tomorrow.”
Burchfield said that forecasters are becoming more confident that Wednesday’s wave of precipitation will be mostly sleet. He said a mixture of drizzle and light snow grains moving in overnight Wednesday. Areas south of Springfield have the highest chances of accumulating ice during the course of the storm, he said.
“If you’ve got to get out and about today, try to take it slow,” Burchfield said. “Road temperatures are very cold. They’re below freezing.”