LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. -- “We have not got the main wave of this storm,” Morgan County Emergency Management Director Rick Bias warns. “Pay attention to what the National Weather Service is saying. It will hit, and that is what we are going by. When you think it is over – it is not.”
As of 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, Bias said there had been a few ice related car accidents in Morgan County, but no accidents involving injuries.
He reports the main roads in Morgan County are slushy and the side roads and parking lots are slick.
Do not drive
With all due respect, no one should be out driving in these conditions until this is over. Stay home.” Bias said. Morgan County Emergency Management employees are waiting at the dispatch center in case conditions worsen. “It has rained off and on and iced off and on and that is what the NWS told us to expect,” Bias said.
Camden County
Camden County Emergency Management Director Ron Gentry reported on Friday evening that there had been no car accidents due to icy road conditions, yet. “The main roads are slushy but still passable, if you use caution. The side gravel roads are slick,” Gentry warned. “Looking at the radar, the rain has let up, but the NWS is calling for more rain and freezing temperatures. It could get worse if the rain hits like they are talking about.” Gentry advised motorist, “If you don’t have to go out, please don’t. Hopefully it will warm up Sunday and melt the ice.”
Miller County
Miller County Sheriff Louie Gregoire reported there had been no ice related accidents in Miller County, as late Friday afternoon. “The highways are clear, but if it continues to rain and ice, they will freeze. The Missouri Department of Transportation has been on top of the situation on the main roads,” Sheriff Gregoire said. He reported the back gravel roads in Miller County as slick and he advised motorists to stay off the roads.
Freezing rain and sleet
The storm began in southern Missouri on Thursday night with freezing rain and sleet, and then spread north across the Ozarks on Friday. The precipitation could continue through the weekend, possibly into Monday.
The NWS says the exact type of precipitation the Lake area will see “remains in question,” since there is uncertainty about where the freezing line will be located in the state amid this storm. That said, the weather service does expect between 1/4 and 3/4 of an inch of ice to accumulate across central Missouri.
