Dangerous winter conditions swept across much of the central United States on Sunday as a fierce storm system moved eastward, disrupting travel and work from Kansas City to Washington.
Nearly a dozen states from Kansas to New Jersey were under winter storm warnings Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), while areas across the US South faced the threat of possible tornadoes and cold weather.
Nationwide, more than 60 million people were under some type of weather alert, according to broadcaster CNN, while air traffic monitoring site FlightAware showed nearly 2,200 flight cancellations and more than 25,000 delays.
High winds from the year’s first storm system brought blizzard conditions to Kansas and Missouri, while states farther east were blanketed with several inches of snow.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear urged residents to “please stay home” after a major highway was closed following reports of multiple vehicle crashes.
The NWS also warned that snow accumulations of up to half an inch in some areas, as well as widespread tree damage from strong wind gusts, could lead to “prolonged power outages.”
A mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow began hitting Kansas Sunday morning. Storm chaser Brian Emfinger said on X that the roads around Kansas City were “skating rinks”.
Video posted by the Weather Channel showed snow-covered highways and tractor trailers slipping in Kansas, where more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snowfall was expected in some areas.
“Areas of heavy snow will spread eastward through the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians tonight, reaching the northern Mid-Atlantic by Monday morning,” the NWS said in an update.
Areas around Washington could see up to 10 inches of rain overnight Sunday through Monday, causing “dangerous travel and closures,” the Washington Post reports.
This could complicate the work of US lawmakers, who under constitutional order must meet on Capitol Hill on January 6 to certify the winner of last year’s presidential election.
“Whether we’re in a blizzard or not,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News Sunday, “we cannot delay that certification… I expect we will have full attendance.”
A joint session is scheduled to be called at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Monday.
very cold
As the jet stream dives southward, temperatures are expected to drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius) in some places, while strong wind gusts increase the dangers.
The mercury could drop tens of degrees below seasonal norms as far as the US Gulf Coast. Earlier, the NWS is forecasting the possibility of severe storms in the lower Mississippi Valley.
Another big concern is freezing rain and hailstorm. Thick layers of ice can make travel hazardous, downing trees and downing power lines.
The NWS predicted up to 0.5 inches of freezing rain in parts of the central Mississippi/Ohio Valley, and warned that “prolonged power outages” could leave millions of customers without power from Kansas to the central Appalachian Mountains. can be given.
Conditions could prove especially dangerous in Appalachia, where a deadly storm in late September devastated communities and several southeastern states, including Kentucky.
“The new storm will likely cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions on our roads and could cause widespread power outages just 24 hours or more before the cold actually moves into Kentucky,” Governor Andy Beshear said at an emergency meeting.
The governors of Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia have declared states of emergency in their states, and warned residents on social media to stay at home.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
