A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S. on Sunday, as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” to some areas.
Snowfall and ice blanketed major roadways in parts of Kansas and Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists getting stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70 as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri— where blizzard conditions were reported — to New Jersey for Monday and into early Tuesday.
“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said early Sunday.
About 63 million people in the U.S. were under some kind of winter weather advisory, watch or warning on Sunday, according to Bob Oravec with the National Weather Service.
The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually stays penned up around the North Pole, spinning like a top. But sometimes it escapes or stretches down to the U.S., Europe or Asia — and that’s when large numbers of people experience intense doses of cold.
Studies show a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its icy grip.
Snow and ice in the forecast
In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 41 and Indiana State Police pleaded with motorists to stay off the roads.
“Please avoid traveling unless necessary,” Sgt. Todd Ringle said on social media platform X.
Part of I-70 was closed in central Kansas by Saturday afternoon. Roughly 10 inches of snow had fallen in parts of the state, with snow and sleet totals predicted to top 14 inches for parts of Kansas and northern Missouri.
The storm was forecast to move then into the Ohio Valley, with severe travel disruptions expected. It will reach the Mid-Atlantic states on Sunday into Monday, with a hard freeze even expected as far south as Florida.
Severe thunderstorms, with the possibility of tornadoes and hail, were also possible ahead of the storm system’s cold front as it crosses the Lower Mississippi Valley, the National Weather Service warned.
Parts of upstate New York saw 3 feet or more of snow from a lake effect event expected to last until late Sunday afternoon.
Car wrecks start as storm hits
The National Weather Service warned that road travel could be “very difficult to impossible.”
By Sunday, dozens of car accidents had been reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his police car was hit on Interstate 65.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state emergency ahead of the storm, said state buildings would be closed Monday.
“We see far too many wrecks out there for people that do not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside. Stay safe with your family. Let the road crews do their work,” the governor said in a video posted to social media. “We want to make sure that nobody gets hurt and everybody gets through this safely, so please look out for each other.”
Governors in Missouri and Arkansas also declared states of emergency.
Air and rail travel also snarled
The storms also caused havoc for the nation’s railways, leading to numerous cancelations. More than 20 cancelations were planned on Sunday, 40 for Monday and at least two for Tuesday.
“If local authorities are telling people not to travel, it’s counterintuitive to try to run a full slate of services when people are being told to stay home,” Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said. “Likewise, we know our people are going to have trouble getting in to work.”
The Midwest was hit especially hard. A train between Chicago and New York and several regional trains between Chicago and St. Louis were among those canceled Sunday.
Nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled, according to tracking platform FlightAware.
Temperatures dip, though no records break
Starting Monday, the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees below normal.
In Chicago on Sunday, temperatures hovered in the teens and around zero in Minneapolis, while dropping to 11 below in International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border.
The Northeastern states are more likely to experience several days of cold following what has mostly been a mild start to winter, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. A plume of cold air coming down from Canada is likely to result in a cold but dry week, he said.
The cold air will likely grip the eastern half of the country as far south as Georgia, Palmer said, with parts of the East Coast experiencing freezing temperatures and lows dipping into the single digits in some areas.
Wind might also pick up as the week gets going, making for potentially dangerous conditions for people exposed to the elements for long periods of time, Palmer said.
Disruptions extend southward
The National Weather Service predicted 8 to 12 inches of snow for the Annapolis, Maryland, area, with temperatures remaining below freezing throughout the weekend.
In a statement on X, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday evening ahead of the storm and encouraged residents to vote before the state’s special elections on Tuesday.
Similar declarations were issued in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and in central Illinois cities.
Classes canceled
School closings were likely to be widespread Monday. Districts in Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky were already announcing cancelations and delays on Sunday afternoon.
Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes, extracurricular activities and athletics Monday for its nearly 100,000 students. The day would have been students’ first one back after winter break.
“This is a traditional snow day with no online learning,” the district announced.
