Major US winter blast closes government offices in several states, creating dangerous travel conditions

A major winter blast of snow, ice, wind and falling temperatures in the United States caused hazardous travel conditions from the central and southern states to the East Coast early Monday, prompting the closure of schools and government offices in several states.

Snow and ice covered major highways in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. Almost 300,000 customers were left without electricity early Monday morning throughout KentuckyIndiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois and Missouri, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts up to 45 mph (72 kph). The warnings extended to New Jersey for Monday and until early Tuesday morning.

“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.

Gary Wright wore a parka as he and his husband removed the thick layer of ice from their SUV in the slippery parking lot of an apartment in Missouri. Wright said he will be working remotely on Monday, but wanted to scrape his vehicle as an excuse to spend a little time in the snow. She also looks for boots for her two older dogs when their paws hit the cold ground.

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 rushes south.

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

temperatures drop

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

Northeastern states are more likely to experience several cold days after a mostly mild start to winter, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Palmer in Gray, Maine.

Cold air is likely to grip the eastern United States as far south as Georgia, with parts of the East Coast experiencing lows in the single digits, Palmer said.

Canceled classes

School closures are expected to be widespread on Monday. Districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas began announcing cancellations and delays Sunday afternoon. Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes, extracurricular activities and sports for its nearly 100,000 students.

Schools were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency on Sunday and announced that the state government would be closed on Monday.

“Keeping Marylanders safe is our top priority. Stay off the roads during this storm. Prepare your home and family and charge your communication devices in case the power goes out,” Moore said in a statement.

Car accidents proliferate with the arrival of the storm

Over the weekend, at least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri, authorities said. Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state of emergency, said government buildings would be closed Monday.

“We see too many accidents out there for people to not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside,” Beshear said.

Road crews remained on duty overnight and were moving forward Monday morning, the state Transportation Cabinet said in a social media post. But the agency warned that ice was a problem on roads, especially in the center of the state and to the north, where there was more snow accumulation.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 230 crashes across the state, with more than 20 injuries, between 4 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. There was one fatal accident, but it was unclear if it was related to the storm, police said. In Charleston, West Virginia, where several inches of snow had fallen Sunday night, authorities urged motorists to stay home.

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.

“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.

Topeka, Kansas, reported 14.5 inches (36.8 centimeters) around 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the weather service.

Kansas City International Airport received a record snowfall of 11 inches (28 centimeters) on Sunday, breaking the previous record for the day of 10.1 inches (26 centimeters) set in 1962, according to the weather service office in Kansas City. Missouri. In Kentucky, Louisville recorded 7.7 inches (19.5 centimeters) of snow on Sunday, a new record for the date that broke the previous mark of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) set in 1910.

Severe travel delays were expected to continue Monday as the storm moved toward the Mid-Atlantic, where another 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of snow was expected, the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center warned. Dangerously cold temperatures were expected to continue, with overnight lows in the single digits by midweek in the Central Plains and the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. In the Mid-Atlantic, lows were expected to fall into the teens and daytime highs near freezing.

Heavy frosts were expected even in southern Florida. Winds downed trees in the Deep South on Sunday.

Air and rail travel was also affected

The storms wreaked havoc on the country’s passenger railways with more than 20 cancellations on Sunday, more than 40 planned for Monday and two already planned for Tuesday.

“If local authorities are telling people not to travel, it is contradictory to try to offer a full range of services when people are being told to stay home,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

More than 1,400 flights were canceled and another 740 delayed nationwide on Monday morning, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was reporting about 46% of arrivals and 59% of departures cancelled.