The next round of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern US
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The next round of bitter cold was expected to hit the southern US on Tuesday after the first major winter storm of the year ravaged much of the country with ice, snow and wind.
The immense storm system wreaked havoc even in parts of the country that normally escape winter’s wrath, causing trees to topple in some southern states, a freeze to threaten in Florida and people in Dallas to delve deep into their closets for hats and gloves .
Wind chill temperatures could drop into the low 20s (down to minus 10.5 degrees Celsius) from Texas on the Gulf Coast early Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. A low-pressure system is then expected to form near South Texas as early as Wednesday, bringing the potential of snow to parts of the state including Dallas, as well as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
The polar vortex that dropped south This past weekend’s icy grip gripped much of the country east of the Rockies on Monday, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures and causing widespread power outages. flight cancellations.
Ice and snow covered major highways in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where snowstorms brought wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour. The warnings extended to New Jersey by early Tuesday.
A Kentucky truck stop was backed up Monday just outside Cincinnati as large trucks were forced off an icy and snow-covered Interstate 75. Michael Taylor, a long-haul driver from Los Angeles who was transporting a load of rugs to Georgia, said he saw scores of cars and trucks stuck in ditches and dealing with icy windshield wipers before he drove off the highway.
“It was too dangerous. “I didn’t want to kill myself or anyone else,” he said.
The polar vortex of ultracold air usually revolves around the North Pole, but sometimes plunges south into the US, Europe and Asia. Studies show that a rapidly warming Arctic is partly responsible for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex increasing its grip.
The eastern two-thirds of the US was affected ice cold and wind chills on Monday, with temperatures well below normal in some areas.
A cold weather warning goes into effect early Tuesday for the entire Gulf Coast. In Texas’ capital, Austin, and surrounding cities, wind chill temperatures could drop as low as 15 degrees (minus 9.4 C).
The Northeast was expected to experience some cold days.
Hundreds of car crashes were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was struck.
Virginia State Police responded to at least 430 crashes, including one fatality, on Sunday and Monday. Police said other weather-related fatalities occurred near Charleston, West Virginia, on Sunday and in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Monday. Kansas saw two fatal crashes this weekend.
More than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more postponed nationally as of Monday evening, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported that approximately 58% of arrivals and 70% of departures were canceled.
A record 8 inches of snow fell at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sunday, leading to dozens of flight cancellations that continued into Monday. About 4 inches (about 10 centimeters) fell Monday across the Cincinnati area, where car and truck accidents blocked at least two major routes into downtown.
In Indiana, snow-covered stretches of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41 have authorities pleading with people to stay home.
“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through it and within half an hour the roads are completely covered again,” said State Police Sgt. said Todd Ringle.
Another 6 to 12 inches of snow was forecast to fall in the Mid-Atlantic region on Monday. Dangerously cold temperatures were expected to follow, with overnight lows dropping into the single digits (below minus 12.7 C) across the Central Plains and Mississippi and Ohio River valleys by midweek.
According to the National Weather Service, 2 to 5 inches (about 5 to 13 centimeters) of snow was expected in North Texas starting Thursday. Snow could also hit Oklahoma and Arkansas, with some areas possibly exceeding 4 inches (about 10 centimeters).
School closures were widespread, with districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas canceling or postponing the start of classes Monday. Among them was Jefferson County Public School in Kentucky, which canceled classes and other school activities for its nearly 100,000 students.
Classes were also canceled in Maryland, where Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency on Sunday and announced that government offices would also be closed on Monday. Government buildings were also closed Monday in Kentucky, where Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency.
Many sat in the dark as temperatures dropped. More than 218,000 customers were without power Monday evening in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.
In Virginia’s capital, a power outage temporarily disrupted the water system, officials said Monday afternoon. Officials in Richmond asked residents of the city of more than 200,000 not to drink tap water or wash dishes without boiling the water first. The city also asked people to use water sparingly, for example by taking shorter showers.
City officials said they were working nonstop to bring the system back online.
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Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press journalists Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Leah Skene in Baltimore; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Julie Walker in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, AL; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
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Read more about the AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment