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Concentrate on safety



Drivers urged to use caution as winter weather hits Southern Illinois

By Bethany Krajelis and staff, The Southern

Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:03 PM CST

The worst of the winter weather may be behind us as meteorologists are predicting a warm weekend for Southern Illinois.

Winter storm and snow warnings were in effect for most of the region Thursday, as a dumping of snow sent students home early from about a dozen regional schools and may be to blame for brief power outages in Carbondale and West Frankfort on Thursday afternoon.

Ameren spokeswoman Erica Abbett said a car hit an electrical pole in the 900 block of North Washington Street in Carbondale, causing 2,600 customers to lose power for less than an hour. West Frankfort Fire Chief Wes Taylor said a transformer problem caused the power to go out on Ninth Street.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the region said several weather-related accidents were reported, including a fatal accident in Perry County. Carbondale Police Officer Randy Mathis said he was pleased with how well drivers coped with the weather and the power outage, which caused some stoplights to go out.

The possibility of four to eight inches of snowfall Thursday evening made some Southern Illinoisans flock to the stores for last-minute items, keeping grocery clerks busy restocking shelves all day.

West City's Wal-Mart Supercenter handled the rush of customers Thursday by opening up grocery check-out lanes in the store's jewelry and vision departments. Customers' carts were filled with items like bread, water and meat, as others snatched up snow shovels and anti-icing material.

Rachel Trevino, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Paducah, said the bulk of the region's snowfall would most likely be over by today, with the chance of a light snow this morning. Trevino said this weekend's 40-degree temperatures would melt most of Thursday's snowfall.

But Trevino said it's looking like severe thunderstorms may be in the forecast for early next week, as the region was hit with Thursday's wintry mix of snow and rain and continues to recuperate from the damage caused from Tuesday's windy gusts.

She urged motorists to "slow down and stay in if you can," but said not to panic, because the snow shouldn't be on the ground for very long.

Kevin Grammer, Illinois Department of Transportation operations engineer for District 9, said crews were out in full force Thursday and would continue as long as the roads need to be cleared. He said 125 snowplows and trucks were sent out to the southern 16 counties.

"As always, we encourage motorists to drive safely, plan ahead and give themselves plenty of time," Grammer said, adding that it's a good idea to pack a phone and blanket in your car in case of emergency. "Concentrate on safety. That's why we are out there."

bethany.krajelis@thesouthern.com / 351-5816