A major winter storm system is wreaking havoc across the eastern half of the United States, delivering successive punches of snow and wind that have made roads impassable in the Upper Midwest and led to the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights nationwide. The severe weather, which began impacting the region on Monday, is expected to bring sharply colder temperatures in its wake as the cold front moves off the East Coast by Tuesday.
Forecasters Warn About Line Of Storms and Tornadoes
The National Weather Service has issued warnings for a line of severe storms with damaging winds crossing much of the Eastern U.S. After initiating on Sunday, these storms have moved through the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio valleys. The threat is projected to enter the Appalachians and then advance toward the East Coast, where forecasters anticipate severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes.
A stretch from parts of South Carolina to Maryland is most likely to experience the greatest damaging winds on Monday afternoon, potentially affecting cities such as Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. In response, many schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have closed for the day. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has urged residents to enable emergency alerts on their phones ahead of expected wind gusts reaching 74 mph (119 kph). In Maryland, numerous school systems have planned early dismissals for students.
Big Snows In Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan
Blizzard conditions persisted on Monday in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, where the storm has already dumped as much as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow by morning. Additional snowfall of a foot (30 centimeters) to 20 inches (51 centimeters) is anticipated in upper Michigan, accompanied by gusty winds, according to the National Weather Service. Schools were closed in multiple communities across both states, including Milwaukee and Marquette, Michigan.
Jim Allen, a 45-year-old resident of the Upper Peninsula, shared that his family stocked up on necessities and he was prepared to clear snow several times on Sunday using a shovel and snowblower. "We're basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to," Allen said.
Flight Disruptions and Power Outages
The storm has caused significant travel disruptions, with thousands of flights canceled nationwide early Monday. This included more than 350 cancellations at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and another 200 at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, as reported by FlightAware. Additionally, over 2,500 flights were delayed nationwide early Monday, following more than 3,200 cancellations and 10,200 delays on Sunday.
Power outages remain a concern, with more than 250,000 utility customers in six Great Lakes states without electricity early Monday, according to PowerOutage.us. Some of these outages originated on Friday when gusts in the region reached 85 mph (137 kph). Another half-million customers were affected from Texas to Kentucky.
Hawaii Continues to Battle Separate Storm System
Meanwhile, Hawaii is still grappling with a separate storm system that caused severe flooding over the weekend. Rain continued to fall on Sunday, with some areas of Maui receiving more than 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. Acres of farmland and homes have been flooded, roads closed, and shelters opened.
Resident and real estate broker Jesse Wald, who recorded video of a coastal road's collapse on Saturday, noted that other parts of the road were flooded out by mud and sediment. "In the 20 years I've been here I've never seen this much rain," he said.
As the storm system moves through, forecasters warn that by Tuesday morning, wind chills below freezing are expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle, with freeze warnings in effect in parts of the Southeast and areas of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas. To the north, rain is expected to change over to snow behind the cold front, with accumulations of more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) possible in the central Appalachians of West Virginia.
