The first severe winter storm of the season is expected to hit the Four States tonight. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

Starting tonight through Thursday the National Weather Service is predicting that the area will receive snow, ice, sleet, and freezing, while Central and Southwest Missouri, in addition to Southeast Kansas, will receive the brunt of the storm. Meteorologist with the NWS office in Springfield, Missouri Miles Langfeld warns to pay attention to the weather the next few days, “we are looking at a potential, highly impactful winter storm, we have issued a winter storm watch for most of the region which includes Southeastern Kansas and the Missouri Ozarks. This has been issued for late Tuesday night through Thursday evening.”

The NWS is predicting between 6 to 8 inches of snow north of I-44, with lesser amounts south of the interstate. They are also warning of travel disruptions and power outages due to ice accumulation. Also, highs across the area Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are only expected to be in the upper ‘20s. For 89 9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro