Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Stores such as Menards are well-stocked with winter assault weapons such as ice scrapers, shovels and salt if you need help when the snow flies next.

Saturday’s wet snow wasn’t hard to remove, but the threat of another round of snowfall today caused St. Joseph residents to prepare Tuesday.

The city should receive about an inch of snow in about an hour sometime after 6 a.m. Wednesday, said Justin Gesling, meteorologist with St. Joe Now.

The National Weather Service predicted Tuesday that the snow wouldn’t start falling until after this morning’s rush hour.

St. Joseph will be on the western edge of the storm with heavier amounts falling toward Bethany, Mo., and Trenton, Mo., as the storm tracks to the east, said Dave Beusterien, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Pleasant Hill, Mo.

“We’re ready with electric generators, snow melt, rock salt and other products if area residents still need to stock up for this winter,” said Greg Eagleburger, Westlake’s local store manager.

The store already has a semi full of ice melt and additional supplies have been reserved, Mr. Eagleburger said.

The wet, slushy snow will hang around with the cold temperatures and could produce hazardous driving conditions tonight and Thursday morning, Mr. Gesling said.

“If we could go south, we would,” said Beverly Williams.

Both Mrs. Williams and her husband depend on their grandchildren to do the shopping for them when the weather turns bad, she said.

But for the next three months both meteorologists agree St. Joseph should see a warmer and wetter winter that doesn’t have a lot of snow.

The concern is still going to be ice, Mr. Gesling said. The warmer temperatures bring rain that could bump into lower-level cold fronts that would change rain to ice this winter, he said.

“The long-range forecast doesn’t preclude anything,” Mr. Beusterien said. “But in general there should be a less than usual amount of snow and extreme cold this winter.”

Last Dec. 10, St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri were hit with an ice storm that knocked out power to about 90 percent of Aquila’s customers.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com.