MONITORING (SW) – A major winter blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures in the US stirred dangerous travel conditions from central and southern states all the way to the East Coast prompting schools and government offices in several states to close.
Snow and ice blanketed major roads across Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. At least 8 inches (20 cm) of snow was expected, along with gusting winds up to 45 mph (72 kph).
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings affecting 60 million people from Kansas and Missouri all the way to New Jersey, reported Guardian.
“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said.
Over the weekend, at least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri, authorities said. Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state emergency, said government buildings would be closed on Monday.
The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually stays penned up around the north pole, spinning like a top. But sometimes it escapes or stretches down to the US, Europe or Asia – and that’s when large numbers of people experience intense doses of cold.
Studies show a fast-warming Arctic gets some of the blame for the increase in polar vortex stretching or wandering.
The storm was forecast to move then into the Ohio Valley, with severe travel disruptions were expected. It was expected to reach the mid-Atlantic states on Sunday into Monday, with a hard freeze even expected as far south as Florida.
Starting on Monday the eastern two-thirds of the country were expected to experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25F (7 to 14C) below normal as the polar vortex stretches down from the high Arctic.
Washington, DC was bracing for heavy snow and bitter cold on Monday, the same day the US Congress is set to meet and formally certify Republican Donald Trump’s election as president.
