Heaviest snowfall in a decade possible as winter blast hits parts of US – Boston Herald

By PATRICK WHITTLE and BRIAN WITTE

an explosion of snow, ice, wind and freezing temperatures A disruptive winter storm caused dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central United States on Sunday, bringing the potential for the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” in some areas.

Snow and ice covered major highways in parts of Kansas and Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. At least 8 inches of snow was expected, particularly north of Interstate 70, as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions were reported. The warning was extended to New Jersey from Monday until early Tuesday.

“For places in this region that receive the greatest amounts of snow, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said early Sunday.

About 63 million people in the United States were under some type of winter weather watch, watch or warning on Sunday, according to Bob Oravec of the National Weather Service.

The polar vortex of ultracold air usually rotates around the North Pole. People in the United States, Europe and Asia experience its intense cold as the vortex escapes and spreads southward.

Studies show a rapidly warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its icy domain.

Snow and ice forecast

In Indiana, snow completely covered portions of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads as the Snowplows worked to keep up with the rainfall.

“It’s snowing so hard that the snow plows go through and then within half an hour the roads are completely covered again,” said Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

Part of I-70 was closed in central Kansas Saturday afternoon. About 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow had fallen in parts of the state, and snow and sleet totals were forecast to exceed 14 inches in parts of Kansas and northern Missouri.

Parts of upstate New York saw 3 feet (0.9 meters) or more of snow due to a lake effect event that is expected to last through Sunday afternoon.

The storm was then forecast to move into the Ohio Valley and reach the mid-Atlantic states on Sunday and Monday, with a hard freeze expected as far south as Florida.

Car accidents begin with the arrival of the storm

A fire truck, several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles overturned Saturday west of Salina, Kansas. The platforms also buckled and fell into the ditches, state Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner said.

the public a video showing his boots sliding along the asphalt of the road as if he were on ice skates. He pleaded with people to stay off the roads.

The governors of neighboring Missouri and nearby Arkansas declared a state of emergency.

Air and rail travel was also affected

The storms also wreaked havoc on the country’s railroads, causing cancellations. Amtrak said in a statement that “adjustments have been made without offering alternative transportation” for many rail lines.

More than 20 cancellations were predicted for Sunday and more than 40 for Monday.

The cancellations affected many parts of the country, but the Midwest was especially hard hit. A train between Chicago and New York and several regional trains between Chicago and St. Louis were among those canceled Sunday.

Nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled, according to tracking platform FlightAware.

Temperatures drop, although records are not broken

Starting Monday, the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous and chilling cold and wind chill, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) below normal.

On Sunday in Chicago, temperatures hovered around 10 degrees Celsius (minus 7 to 10 degrees Celsius) and around zero degrees in Minneapolis, while they fell to minus 11 degrees in International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border.

Northeastern states are more likely to experience several days of cold after what has been a mostly mild start to winter, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. A column of cold air moving down from Canada is likely to result in a cold but dry week, he said.

Cold air will likely grip the eastern half of the country as far south as Georgia, Palmer said, and parts of the East Coast will experience freezing temperatures and lows in the single digits in some areas.

The wind could also increase as the week progresses, creating potentially dangerous conditions for people exposed to the elements for long periods of time, Palmer said.

Disturbances spread south

The National Weather Service forecast 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) of snow for the Annapolis, Maryland, area, and temperatures will remain below freezing throughout the weekend.

In a statement on X, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday night before the storm and encouraged residents to vote ahead of the state’s special election on Tuesday.

Similar statements were issued in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and cities in central Illinois.

“This is the real problem,” meteorologist John Gordon said at a news conference in Louisville, Kentucky. “Are the weather people exaggerating this? No.”

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

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Associated Press writers Julie Walker in New York and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed. Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland. Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

Originally Posted: January 5, 2025 at 8:02 am EST