Downstate Illinois Threatened By Winter Storm

Parts of downstate Illinois are under a Winter Storm Watch, a Freezing Rain Advisory and an Ice Storm Warning, as a winter storm moves into the southern Plains. Illinois State Police have issued their own Winter Weather Travel Advisory, reminding motorists to prepare for possible hazardous road conditions caused by freezing rain and icy roads.

Downstate Illinois is on the northern edge of a region that lies in the path of a storm that earlier brought heavy snow and rainfall to northern California. Now it’s threatening Plains states with crippling ice accumulations and heavy rain that that could cause widespread power outages and flooding.

Besides the warnings, watches and advisories for Illinois, the National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for northwestern Oklahoma starting Friday morning, and a winter storm watch for much of the rest of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri and part of Texas.

Forecasters say there is a chance that region could see up to 1 inch of ice. Storms are also expected Saturday and Sunday.

In Kansas, up to 1 inch of ice was expected to fall in "multiple rounds" of freezing rain through Monday. In Missouri, forecasters were calling for up to three-quarters of an inch of freezing rain.

The threat of icy weather has prompted Ameren Illinois to put its workers and contractors on alert, in case the winter storm leads to downed power lines.

And the the St. Louis Cardinals have canceled several stops of its Cardinals Caravan, including scheduled appearances in Champaign and Peoria on Friday and Quincy on Saturday.