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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The big story this week is the impending winter storm. It has all the classic earmarks of a solid snowmaker. The only aspect of this system that is marginal will be the temperatures, which will hover close to freezing throughout the event. This is important for figuring out how the snow will affect the roads in the long run, which may not be as bad for as long as the snowfall totals would suggest.

Snowfall potential for the St. Louis area.

The system arrives late Tuesday evening and likely will begin as a cold rain after 8 p.m. Snow is expected to fall between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, with the transition occurring shortly after midnight.

The heaviest snow totals will generally be along and south of I-70. Snowfall totals in this area, including metropolitan St. Louis, will range from around four to six inches. However, towns south of St. Louis, such as Farmington, have a chance of receiving over six inches of snow.

Snow start times near St. Louis, Missouri.

St. Louis storm timeline:

  • Rain and snow mix starts around 8 p.m. near St. Louis Tuesday
  • Snow continues to fall overnight into the morning rush-hour Wednesday
  • The heaviest snowfall is expected south of I-70
  • The snow could impact the morning rush-hour Wednesday

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This will be a heavy, wet snow with temperatures near or just above freezing. That means after the snow has ended, roads should improve rather quickly during the day as it will melt very quickly when temps warm into the upper 30s Wednesday afternoon. However, the roads are likely to be in rough shape going into the morning drive Wednesday and up until the snow tapers to flurries just before midday.