More than 60 million Americans were under winter weather and storm advisories Sunday as a swath of the Midwest and East, already gripped by bitterly cold temperatures, braced for a historic storm after more than 2 feet of snow already fell in some areas since Friday.
“Over a dozen states are forecast to be impacted by one or more aspects of this storm,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. He said snow could exceed 6 inches in some areas and “is expected to bring travel to a standstill in places like Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.”
Governors in several states, including Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, declared states of emergency ahead of the weather system. And New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for seven counties while Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster.
As USA Today reports, hundreds of schools from the Midwest to the East Coast that were planning to reopen Monday after a two-week winter holiday break were faced with delaying restarts for a day or more. Residents of heavily affected areas were urged to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary so that emergency vehicles and snowplows could do their work.
The National Weather Service warned that some areas could see their biggest storm in more than a decade. The storm was moving toward the mid-Atlantic, where residents braced for heavy snow and cold temperatures.
Daytime temperatures on Monday and Tuesday are predicted to be 10 to 20 degrees below average from the Great Plains to the East Coast, according to the weather service. In Arlington and the Washington, D.C., region, where some winters come and go with barely a hint of snow, the storm was forecast to hit Sunday night. The Weather Service warned of total snow and sleet accumulations from 5 to 9 inches. Amounts of 10 to 12 inches were possible in isolated spots, forecasters said.
And a second round of heavy snow was possible late Monday before the precipitation ends, the local winter weather message said. “Today is the day, Virginia,” the Virginia Department of Transportation posted Sunday on social media. “Wintry weather is headed our way (and) hazardous travel conditions are expected. Plan travel around the storm.”
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