Last weekend, the winter storm dubbed, “Winter Storm Blair” by The Weather Channel, ripped through the eastern half of the U.S. The aftermath left Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and many of the surrounding states coated in a thick layer of ice, which was then covered in snow.

Between the ice, snow and powerful wind gusts, power lines and trees were taken down, causing power outages and blocking roadways. PowerOutage.us reported 31,070 Missourians without power by 6:58 p.m. Sunday Jan. 5.

Many flights to and from the affected region were canceled or heavily delayed, even at major airports such as the St. Louis Lambert International Airport, which had reported 8.5 inches of snow. Motorists ended up stranded in major cities such as Kansas City, unable to traverse across black ice.

Blair heads east

In Mexico, flurries began appearing as early as Thursday, Jan. 2 though nothing stuck according to resident, Ron Ray. By Friday, sleet was starting to make its way across Kansas and parts of Missouri. On Saturday, it was looking as though Blair could be nothing to worry about after all - then came Sunday.

Blair’s effort to break Mexico’s 1977 record holding snow was a valiant one. NOAA Online Weather Data (NOWData) reported a 6.5 inch accumulation by Jan. 6, just an inch below the record for that day.

By this time, the Missouri Department of Transportation had already begun releasing cautionary reports that urged residents to minimize travel. Freezing temperatures and strong wind gusts were making travel on Monday, “impossible”.

“We had some areas that actually had some sleet and ice prior to receiving snow,” says Kevin James, assistant district engineer for MoDOT’s Northeast District. “That type of storm coupled with the very cold temperatures after the storm had ended really impacted our response and made it much longer.”

Fortunately, for northeastern Missouri counties, MoDOT already had a good idea of how to maximize response efforts as they are in constant communication with other districts.

“When they know the winter weather is coming, they try to be sure our equipment is ready, we’ve got material mixed and we’ve got vehicles that have been serviced,” says James.

Blair continued into Monday, preventing many businesses and all local schools from opening due to unsafe road conditions. She left in her wake, a total of 7.5 inches of snow sat atop of a thick layer of ice.

MoDOT immediately dispatched crews all across the state to clear and salt the roads.

“Our crews work 12-hour shifts and we have people, of course, that have worked those shifts continuously,” James explains.

The City of Mexico Department of Public Works also had crews out to clear the roads, starting with the designated 13.279 miles of emergency snow routes, which included much of Liberty St. and Boulevard St.

Just as snow removal teams were making headway, a second winter storm, named “Cora” by the National Weather Service, had appeared.

Cora dumped another 3 inches of snow on top of the already questionable roads, Friday, Jan. 10, the warmest day since Blair.

“When we have that much snow, and it gets warmer the next couple of days, it makes our response easier, but this one is very challenging,” says James.

District 59’s response

Students in Mexico Public Schools District 59 had been enjoying winter break since Dec. 23 with the first day of second semester beginning Monday, Jan. 6.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, MPS announced school would not be in session on Monday due to inclement weather.

The decision to close the schools was a difficult one made by Superintendent of Mexico Public Schools, Troy Lentz. This is his ninth year serving as superintendent.

“It’s so inconsistent,” explains Lentz. “A lot of the roads are in good shape but there are some places that are really not safe to drive on.”

Lentz hoped to have school back in session by Wednesday, Jan. 8 but didn’t want to risk the safety of students, faculty and bus drivers.

“The roads were not as good as I hoped they would be,” he admits on Thursday.

And with Cora looming, he was forced to consider the fact that students may be out for the rest of the week.

“I always want to be in session,” says Lentz. “That is kind of my default. We expect to be in session.”

As a parent of a Mexico Middle School student himself, Superintendent Lentz sympathizes with frustrated parents, but it is also the reason one of his first considerations when deciding whether to close school is safety.

“I try to block out some of the other distractions around snow day calls and just focus on bus stops,” he explains.

Students ended up staying home through Friday, though some faculty members, especially the district grounds keeping and maintenance teams, were hard at work clearing the campuses and preparing for students.

“I really do want to brag on our team that does that work,” says Lentz. “They came in and got the campus to where it was safe for foot traffic.”

Despite the extra week of vacation, Superintendent Lentz assures this will not affect the academic calendar.

“Mexico has a lot of snow days built in,” he explains. “Hopefully this will be the last weather event, and we won't have to make too many more decisions about being in session.”