A fierce storm moving across the country toward the Mid-Atlantic states impacted a vast area, bringing a mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain that the Weather Prediction Center warned could disrupt daily life Sunday and Monday. And there could be “significant disruption” to travel.
The storm left roads covered with snow across Kansas on Saturday. The storm’s impact is expected to stretch more than 1,500 miles across a dozen states from eastern Colorado to Maryland and Delaware.
About 50 million people will be under winter weather advisories, watches and warnings during the storm.
There is a possibility of power cuts, falling of trees and travel disruption at airports and roads. in kansas, 5,000 people were without electricity Sunday morning.
The National Weather Service said that in the most extreme conditions, whiteout caused by blizzard or blizzard conditions could make roads impassable and drivers could become stranded.
Several states are involved in the path of the weather system arkansas, kansas, kentucky, missouri And Virginia – declared a state of emergency, and maryland State of readiness declared. The declarations are intended to improve states’ responses to storms through various means.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb plans to activate the National Guard to help with any highway rescues, said Jane Jankowski, his deputy chief of staff.
The storm is being caused by Arctic air entering the United States from Canada.
As the storm system moves offshore on Monday, “extremely cold” air will settle behind it, said Bob Orweck, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center.
On Tuesday morning, roads will be covered with snow in many places in the storm’s path, including Washington, where a procession is planned as part of Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
The heaviest snowfall in a decade is expected in some places
Nearly four million people across much of Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska were under a blizzard warning early Sunday, which was set to last until 3 a.m. Monday. Some places were predicted to receive the heaviest snowfall in a decade.
Forecasters warned of wind gusts of more than 40 mph and snowfall of more than 15 inches. A blizzard warning is issued when heavy snowfall and wind gusts up to 35 mph are forecast for three hours or more.
Dozens of highway crashes caused by low-pressure system overnight in Kansas and Missouri informedIncluding a snow plow that was turned on its side on an icy road. the officials caution If drivers leave the road and become stuck, help may be hours away.
“MDOT crews and our troopers are working around the clock, but they are also experiencing difficulty traversing slick roads,” the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. said on social mediaReferring to the state transportation department, with a photo of an overturned plow.
In northern Kansas, a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 70 was closed overnight, according to officials, and Video taken on interstate and posted on Facebook Vehicles were shown sliding through the streets in all directions, as if on an ice-skating rink.
In Kansas City, Kansas, Brock Graham, manager of the Chateau Avalon Hotel Spa and D’Nile Lounge, a boutique hotel near Interstate 70 on the city’s western outskirts, said most of the hotel’s staff were sent home. weekend.
The hotel was only expecting a few guests after a wave of cancellations. Mr Graham said those who stayed at work would not go home until Monday.
“It’s going to be difficult or almost impossible to drive,” Mr. Graham said, adding that shelves at nearby grocery stores were mostly empty. “I think everyone in the area is preparing.”
The storm is expected to bring snow to the mid-Atlantic.
On Sunday, the system was moving from the Central Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley toward the Ohio Valley.
Over a wide area between northeast Missouri and the central Appalachian Mountains, heavy snowfall totals of eight to 14 inches are expected from Saturday through Sunday and Monday. A few inches of sleet and freezing rain are expected in southern Illinois and Indiana.
In Ohio, where the storm was expected to reach mountainous areas in the southeastern part of the state, thousands of miles of roads had been treated with salt by Saturday, Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Bruning said.
He said the state expected to deploy more than 1,000 snow removal equipment at the peak of the storm.
South of the band of heavy snow, a band of freezing rain is predicted to fall from central Kansas to the central Appalachians through Monday, according to the Weather Prediction Center. More than half an inch of snow may accumulate in some areas.
“That rain will freeze on contact and turn into glazing — that’s what sticks to trees, power lines, roads, cars, car windows, everything,” said Rich Bain, a meteorologist at the Prediction Center. “
After crossing the central Appalachian Mountains, the system will move into the Mid-Atlantic, possibly early Monday morning.
There is also a possibility of rain and storms across parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley from East Texas to Mississippi during Sunday afternoon and evening. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a risk level – three out of five – for severe storms in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The main concerns include damaging wind gusts, tornadoes, and hail.
By daybreak on Monday, snow will be falling across a large portion of the Mid-Atlantic region, including Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, and that is expected to continue throughout the day.
Four to nine inches of snowfall is expected in Baltimore and five to nine inches of snowfall in Washington.
If the system moves slightly north or south, the totals could go up or down “pretty much in either direction,” said National Weather Service forecaster Kevin Rodriguez.
By Tuesday, snow will be gone in the Mid-Atlantic, although some light snow may remain over the central Appalachians. Cold, stormy weather is expected throughout the week, the maximum temperature in the afternoon will be 30 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature at night will be 20 degrees Celsius.
“It will be very cold for a large part of the week,” Mr. Oravec of the weather forecasting center said. Temperatures from the eastern Rockies to the East Coast will be about 10 to 12 degrees below seasonal averages.
yan zhuang And Nazneen Ghaffar Contributed to the reporting.