MetroLink said icy wires and power outages have caused so many problems that trains won't be running for the morning commute Friday.
"It could be as late as the afternoon before we can run," said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams.
The agency's buses will be running -- however probably will be slowed by the same road conditions as cars.
Williams said the trouble with the MetroLink train system started late in rush hour Thursday evening. Ice accumulated on the wires that power the trains, and the train's cutters couldn't keep up. Power outages made the problems worse.
By late Thursday, no trains were running from Laclede's Landing in downtown St. Louis to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. And no trains were running on the new Shrewsbury line either, Williams said.
Twenty-one trains were stranded by about 10 p.m. Thursday. Buses had picked up passengers, and the train's conductors were waiting for assistance.
"We will not have rail service in the morning," she said.
The forecast called for 3 to 5 inches in the city and environs by noon today, 4 to 8 inches in St. Charles County, 10 to 16 inches in Columbia, Mo., and 10 to 14 inches in Quincy, Ill., and 6 to 10 inches in Kansas City.Based on that forecast, dozens of St. Louis area school districts — including Parkway, Fort Zumwalt and Lindbergh — already were announcing Thursday night that they would be closed today.
The storm announces the coming season to a region that's had it pretty easy during the past few winters. Only 8 inches fell in St. Louis last winter. The last time St. Louis had a 5-inch snowfall was on Dec. 24, 2002.
For the record, the biggest December here was a 12-inch pounding on Dec. 19, 1973.