Use these weather tips for driving in the snow when it happens in Warren County, MO, cities.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous wesbite, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
The weather forecast for Warren County is showing a chance of snow this weekend, though that chance has dropped significantly from earlier in the week.
The AccuWeather forecast originally showed a 91 percent possibility of snow on Sunday, but now the forecast says to expect cold and rain.
So there may not be any accumulation in the region this weekend. But that doesn't mean the white stuff isn't coming eventually this winter.
To prepare for an eventual snowfall, Warren County Emergency Management Director Jim Sharp provided the following information about driving in the white stuff.
His first main recommendation is not to get on the roads in the first place.
“As far as winter weather driving is concerned, the biggest thing in my mind is for people to please pay attention to the forecast and to please stay off the roads unless it is absolutely necessary for you to be out,” Sharp said in an email to The Record.
He also provided the “general rules of winter driving.”
The first is to keep gas in your tank.
“We’ve all been there. We know we have just enough gas to get home, and suddenly traffic comes to a stop,” Sharp said in the email. “Will traffic clear before you run out of gas? No way to know for sure. Even without winter weather, it doesn’t take much to turn a 30-minute commute into a 120-minute commute.”
He also recommends taking time, having patience, and using courtesy.
“‘I’m a great driver in the snow; it’s everyone else on the road that worries me.’ If we’re all saying that, then aren’t we all the ‘everyone else’ that we worry about?” Sharp said.
Sharp also recommends being prepared to be on your own for at least a little while. He recommends a basic list of necessities for a vehicle emergency kit, including a cell phone and charge, working flashlight, weather-appropriate clothing, blankets, ice scraper, small shovel to help keep your exhaust pipe clear of snow, non-perishable food, water, a first-aid kit, and extra medications.
“Each one of us is an expert on what we and our families would need, so plan for you and for the people who might regularly ride with you,” Sharp said.
He also asks Warren County residents to know your limitations.
“We all have them,” Sharp said. “If you know you’re not a great driver in the snow, or that your vehicle doesn’t do well in the snow, then please do your best to not drive in the snow. No one ever wrecked their living room couch in a snowstorm.”
About the author: Jason Koch is the editor of The Warren County Record, and covers local news and government for the newspaper. He has won multiple awards from both the Indiana and Illinois APME and from the Illinois Press Association. He can be reached at 636-456-6397 or at jason@warrencountyrecord.com
