By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
A major winter storm hit the St. Charles area Thursday. After many hours of rain, sleet, and freezing snow the area was covered in several inches of snow.
Many St. Charles businesses did not open Thursday and some of those that did open closed early.
The St. Charles City Hall closed at 1:00 p.m. Thursday and was closed Friday. It is expected to reopen Monday Morning.
City crews worked through the day Thursday and into the night in an attempt to keep the city streets passable. By early Friday morning most of the main thoroughfares were passable. Many of the secondary streets and subdivision streets were still covered with several inches of ice topped by several inches of snow. Most city streets are expected to be passable by later Friday afternoon.
Because of icy conditions the Missouri State Highway Patrol closed several sections of Interstate 44 and Interstate 70 for several hours. Interstate 70 was reported to be extremely dangerous from Goodfellow Boulevard in St. Louis to Columbia, Missouri.
Many homes in the metropolitan area including areas of St. Charles were without power Friday morning. Several trees were uprooted and many power lines were down.
Ameren UE reported that in some areas is could be several days before they would be able to restore power.
Should you experience any power lines down please do not approach the lines but immediately notify 911.
