Major winter storm hits central and eastern US; Snow accumulates in Washington: live updates

WASHINGTON – A big winter storm that buried Midwestern communities under several feet of snow over the weekend, began hitting the Mid-Atlantic region on Monday, causing hazardous travel conditions and widespread school closures as federal offices closed and cancellations They accumulated at airports.

Tens of millions of people were under winter storm warnings as the storm stretched from southern Illinois to Virginia and Washington, D.C., where forecasters warned of extremely heavy snowfall “falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour, coinciding with the first full ride of the morning after the storm.” Christmas season”, Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist he said in an online forecast.

Washington, DC, where Congress will formally certify Donald Trump’s election as president, and Baltimore are expected to receive between 6 and 12 inches of snow. according to the National Weather Service.

Federal offices in the Washington, D.C., area closed Monday. according to the US Office of Personnel Management..

Governors in several states, including Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, declared states of emergency over the weekend as the storm headed east. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for seven counties, while Kansas Governor Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster..

“When it snows at such a rapid rate, despite the best efforts of road crews, it is difficult to keep up with the accumulation and keep roads clear of snow,” Porter said. “We have seen similar situations in the past that catch people off guard who are unprepared for the impacts, leading to ‘road chaos’ including multi-vehicle crashes and traffic jams, which have resulted in the closure of major interstate highways for hours.

Power outages reported from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic

More than 290,000 homes and businesses were without power from the Midwest to the East Coast as a historic winter storm unleashed powerful wind gusts and heavy snowfall.

Massive blackouts were reported Monday morning from Missouri to Virginia, with the worst blackouts in Kentucky, 85,000; Indiana, 62,000; and Illinois, 40,500, according to a USA TODAY Outage Tracker.

Blackouts were on the rise in West Virginia, 39,000; Missouri, 33,000; and Virginia, 31,000, according to the tracker.

School closures abound amid powerful winter storm

Hundreds of schools from Illinois to Washington, D.C., were forced to close Monday, delaying the first day of school after winter break for many.

All public schools in the District of Columbia closed their doors Monday as snow began to accumulate and temperatures fell below freezing levels. School closures also delayed the return of students to classrooms in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Cincinnati Public Schools are closed Monday as the snow is expected to continue until the start of the school week. In Springfield, Missouri, the school district canceled classes Monday due to bad weather and icy roads. In Kentucky, some Louisville-area schools canceled classes as the storm moved toward the area, bringing a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain and hazardous road conditions.

This is a developing story; Please check back for updates.

Contributing: John Bacon and Thao Nguyen

This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Winter storm brings heavy snow, travel issues to East Coast