A massive winter storm is sweeping across the United States, putting tens of millions of Americans on high alert. Some areas are forecast to experience the heaviest snowfall in a decade, and states of emergency have been declared nationwide.
A winter storm brought snow, ice and freezing temperatures to much of the US on Sunday, and another swath of states will be hit on Monday, sending some 60 million people across 18 states under winter weather warnings and advisories.
The National Weather Service said snowstorms were already battering the state of Kansas and parts of northwestern Missouri Sunday afternoon. Roads were covered in snow and ice, and authorities urged residents to avoid travelling.
By Monday morning (local time), millions will see snow falling from St. Louis and Washington, D.C., to Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Even New York City could get light snow or snowflakes early Monday.
The weather service said freezing rain will cause “dangerous ice accumulations ” in northern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Meanwhile, the storm system’s tail end also produces severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
“For some, this could be the heaviest snowfall in more than a decade,” the federal agency’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather prediction centre warned.
The storm forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including more than 275 in both Kansas City and St. Louis, according to aviation tracking website FlightAware. Governors in several states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia and Virginia, have declared emergency states.
The storm will move away from the coast on Monday evening, but freezing arctic air will enter. Daytime temperatures on Monday and Tuesday are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees below average.
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