usa desk:
Dangerous wintry conditions descended Sunday on a large swath of the central United States as a severe storm system tracked eastward, prompting travel and work disruptions from Kansas City to Washington.
Around a dozen states from Kansas to New Jersey were under winter storm warnings Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, while areas across the US South faced possible tornado and cold weather threats.
Nationwide, over 60 million people were under some sort of weather alert, according to broadcaster CNN, while air traffic monitoring site FlightAware showed almost 2,200 flight cancellations and over 25,000 delays.
Gusty winds from the storm system, the first of the year, brought blizzard conditions to Kansas and Missouri, while states farther east were blanketed in multiple inches of snow.
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear implored residents to ‘please stay home’ after reporting multiple vehicle crashes had closed a major highway.
The NWS also warned that accumulations of up to a half-inch of ice in some areas — as well as widespread tree damage from powerful wind gusts — could lead to ‘prolonged power outages.’
A mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow began hitting Kansas early Sunday morning. Storm chaser Brian Emfinger said on X that roads around Kansas City were ‘a skating rink.’
Video posted by the Weather Channel showed cars skidding off ice-coated highways and tractor trailers jack-knifing in Kansas, where some areas were expecting over a foot of snow.
‘Areas of heavy snow will spread eastward through the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians tonight, reaching the northern Mid-Atlantic by Monday morning,’ the NWS said in an update.
Areas around Washington could see up to 10 inches overnight Sunday into Monday, making ‘hazardous travel and closings’ likely, the Washington Post reported.
