In what will most certainly qualify as a development devoid of shock, the National Weather Service is predicting more snow for the Collinsville area overnight Thursday and into Friday morning.

Snow removed from Main Street, Collinsville / Photo by Roger Starkey

Up to one inch is expected to fall in the area between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. Another chance of flurries are predicted for Friday morning.

Despite 22 inches of the white stuff sticking since December, the City of Collinsville is well supplied with salt for the streets, Director of Streets Rod Cheatham said. The street crews were out five times in a two-week stretch in December, during which about six inches of snow fell, Cheatham said.

With such heavy use early in the season, Cheatham decided to order an additional 1,000 tons in late December. “That decision is paying off, now everybody and their brother is scrambling to get salt because they have depleted their supply,” Chetham said. “We are sitting pretty good.”

Cheatham said he watches every penny in his budget throughout the year so that the city will have enough salt to react to large winter storms. “The one thing I won’t sacrifice on is public safety,” Cheatham said. “We need to keep the public safe, that is what they expect from us.”

Collinsville has received about 16 inches of snow in January alone. Typical snowfall for the month is 5.6 inches. Typical February accumulation is 4.3 inches, with another 2.3 in March. Last year, 24 inches fell in the St. Louis area in February and March.

“I don’t think we’re anywhere near out of the woods yet,” Cheatham said.