By Associated Press’s Patrick Whittle and Brian Witte
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Early Monday, a significant winter storm of snow, ice, wind, and freezing temperatures in the United States caused hazardous travel conditions from the central and southern states all the way to the East Coast, forcing the closure of government buildings and schools in a number of states.
Major routes in Kansas, western Nebraska, and portions of Indiana were covered in snow and ice, prompting the state’s National Guard to be called in to assist stranded drivers. Electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us reports that early Monday, nearly 300,000 people in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri were without power.
Winter storm warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions produced 45 mph wind gusts. New Jersey was also under the warnings for Monday and the first part of Tuesday.
According to the weather service, it might be the most snowfall in at least ten years for areas of this region that get the most snowfall.
In a slick Missouri apartment parking lot, Gary Wright and his spouse were wearing parkas as they chipped away at the thick layer of ice covering his SUV. Wright intended to use his car as a justification to spend some time in the snow, even though he stated that he would be working remotely on Monday. When his two elder dogs’ paws touch the chilly ground, he is also looking for boots for them.
The North Pole is often encircled by the polar vortex of extremely cold air. When the vortex breaks free and plunges south, people in the United States, Europe, and Asia feel the extreme cold.
According to studies, the polar vortex’s rising frequency of extending its icy grasp is partially caused by the Arctic’s rapid warming.
Temperatures plunge
Forecasters warned that deadly, bone-chilling cold and wind chills would begin to affect the eastern two-thirds of the United States on Monday. Temperatures may drop by 12 to 25 degrees.
After a largely moderate start to winter, the Northeastern states are more likely to see several days of cold, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Palmer in Gray, Maine.
Palmer predicted that single-digit low temperatures will be experienced in some areas of the East Coast when the cold air moved throughout the eastern United States as far south as Georgia.
Classes canceled
On Monday, it is anticipated that many schools would close. On Sunday afternoon, districts in Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Virginia started to announce postponements and cancellations. For its approximately 100,000 pupils, Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky suspended academics, extracurricular activities, and athletics.
In Maryland, where Governor Wes Moore proclaimed a state of emergency on Sunday and said the state government would be closed on Monday, classes have also been canceled.
The safety of Marylanders is our first concern. During this storm, kindly avoid the roadways. In the event of a power outage, get your family and house ready and make sure your communication devices are charged, Moore said in a statement.
Car wrecks proliferate as storm hits
According to authorities, at least 600 drivers were stuck in Missouri over the weekend. In Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, and Kentucky, hundreds of auto accidents were reported. One state trooper was hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries when his patrol car was struck.
Government buildings will be closed Monday, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who announced a state emergency.
I want to ask: Stay indoors, Beshear added. We see far too many wrecks out there for folks who shouldn’t be on the roadways.
In a social media post, the state Transportation Cabinet stated that road crews were still on duty overnight and were making progress on Monday morning. However, the agency issued a warning that ice was a problem on highways, particularly in the mid-state and further north where snow was more densely packed.
Between 4 p.m. on Sunday and 4 a.m. on Monday, Virginia State Police responded to at least 230 collisions throughout the state, resulting in over 20 injuries. According to officials, there was one tragic crash, but it was unclear whether it was caused by the storm. By Sunday evening, authorities in Charleston, West Virginia, where several inches of snow had fallen, advised drivers to stay at home.
Snow and ice in the forecast
Parts of Interstate 64, Interstate 69, and U.S. Route 41 were completely buried with snow in Indiana, forcing Indiana State Police to ask drivers to avoid the highways while plows attempted to keep up.
According to Sgt. Todd Ringle, the roads are fully covered again in half an hour after the snow plows pass through since it is snowing so heavily.
The weather service reported 14.5 inches in Topeka, Kansas, at approximately 8 p.m. on Sunday.
The meteorological service office in Kansas City, Missouri, reported that Sunday’s record snowfall of 11 inches at Kansas City International Airport broke the previous record of 10.1 inches established in 1962. Sunday saw 7.7 inches of snow fall in Louisville, Kentucky, breaking the previous record of 3 inches established in 1910 and setting a new record for the date.
As the storm proceeded into the Mid-Atlantic, where another 6 to 12 inches of snow were predicted, the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center warned that severe travel delays would likely persist Monday. Through the middle of the week, evening lows across the Central Plains and the Mississippi and Ohio Valley were predicted to drop into the single digits, bringing dangerously low temperatures. Daytime highs in the Mid-Atlantic were predicted to be close to freezing, while lows were predicted to drop into the teens.
As far south as Florida, a harsh freeze was predicted. Trees in the Deep South were felled by winds on Sunday.
Air and rail travel also snarled
With over 20 cancellations on Sunday, over 40 scheduled for Monday, and two already scheduled for Tuesday, the storms produced chaos for the country’s passenger railways.
“It is counterintuitive to try to run a full slate of services when people are being told to stay home if local authorities are telling people not to travel,” said Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak.
FlightAware, a tracking platform, reports that more than 1,400 flights were canceled and 740 more were delayed countrywide Monday morning. About 46% of arrivals and 59% of departures were canceled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
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Whittle reported from Portland, Maine, and Witte from Annapolis, Maryland. Contributions were made by Associated Press journalists Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Julie Walker in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
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