Millions of Americans are bracing for a powerful winter storm that could bring blizzards with the heaviest snowfall and coldest temperatures in more than a decade. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storm began over the central United States and will move eastward over the next few days.
More than 60 million people are in the path of the massive storm that will plunge the eastern half of the US into a deep freeze of Arctic air by Monday, with the NWS warning of snow, blizzards and gale force winds from the central plains into states. To the mid-Atlantic.
Winter storm warnings have been issued from western Kansas to the coastal states of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, unusually an area of 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) is in immediate danger. “The disruptive winter storm will produce widespread heavy snowfall and damaging ice accumulations from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic through Monday,” the NWS said in its latest report.
The agency warned that areas from northeastern Kansas to north-central Missouri would receive the “heaviest snowfall in a decade.”
historically low temperatures
According to forecasters, a polar vortex, an area of cold air that swirls around the Arctic, is the cause of the extreme weather conditions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, “For some, this could be the heaviest snowfall in more than a decade.”
“This could be the coldest January for the US since 2011,” said Dan DePodwin, forecaster at AccuWeather. He said temperatures “well below historical averages” could persist for up to a week.
With the jet stream diving southward, temperatures are expected to drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) in some locations, while strong wind gusts will 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.
travel disruption
The first major storm of 2025 was already wreaking havoc on travel, with Kansas City International Airport announcing the closure of its flight operations on Saturday “due to rapid snow accumulation.” Flight operations resumed after the airport’s runway and taxiways were repaired, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a social media post.
Parts of the eastern states of New York and Pennsylvania are facing “heavy lake-effect snow” coming from the Great Lakes, according to the NWS, which could see up to two feet (61 centimeters) of snow fall there.
Forecast company AccuWeather said Saturday that the total amount of lake-effect snow could be up to four feet in the already snow-covered region this week.
A blizzard will hit the central Plains early Sunday, the NWS said, and “whiteout conditions will make travel extremely hazardous, making roads impassable and putting motorists at high risk of becoming stranded.”
The US capital Washington may also receive five inches or more of snowfall, while the surrounding areas are likely to receive up to 10 inches of snow.
Another big concern is freezing rain and sleet from Kansas to eastern Kentucky and Virginia, which is likely to cause thick ice on roads, making travel hazardous, downing trees and power lines, and potentially freezing temperatures during the winter. Millions of customers will be left without power. ,
The NWS warned that it expected widespread tree damage and “prolonged power outages” from Kansas to the central Appalachian Mountains.
Conditions could prove especially dangerous in the Appalachians, where a deadly storm in late September devastated communities and several southeastern states, including Kentucky.
Many of those communities are still recovering from the effects of that storm.
“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 they have warned residents on social media to expect dangerous weather this weekend.
