MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S. on Sunday, as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” to some areas.
Snowfall and ice blanketed major roadways in parts of Kansas and Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists getting stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70 as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri— where blizzard conditions were reported — to New Jersey into Monday.
“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 early Sunday.
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 U.S., 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.
In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 41 and Indiana State Police pleaded with motorists to stay off the roads.
“Please avoid traveling unless necessary,” Sgt. Todd Ringle said on social media platform X.
Part of the I-70 was closed in central Kansas by Saturday afternoon. Total snow and sleet accumulations for parts of Kansas and northern Missouri were predicted to be as high as 14 inches (35.6 centimeters).
The storm was forecast to move then into the Ohio Valley, with severe travel disruptions expected. It will reach the Mid-Atlantic states on Sunday into Monday, with a hard freeze even expected as far south as Florida.
Severe thunderstorms, with the possibility of tornadoes and hail, were also possible ahead of the storm system’s cold front as it crosses the Lower Mississippi Valley, the National Weather Service warned.
Parts of upstate New York saw 3 feet (0.9 meters) or more of snow from a lake effect event expected to last until late Sunday afternoon.
A fire truck, several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles overturned west of Salina, Kansas. Rigs also jackknifed and went into ditches, state Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner said.
He posted a video showing his boots sliding across the highway blacktop like an ice-skating rink.
“We are in it now,” Gardner said as he drove to the scene of an accident. Online, he begged for prayers and warned that some roadways were nearly impassable.
Governors in neighboring Missouri and nearby Arkansas declared states of emergency. Whiteout conditions threatened to make driving dangerous to impossible, forecasters warned, and heighten the risk of becoming stranded.
Nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled Sunday, according to tracking platform FlightAware.
The Kansas City International Airport temporarily halted flight operations on Saturday afternoon due to ice. Dozens of flights were delayed, including a charter jet transporting the Kansas City Chiefs, before the runways reopened.
“Work will continue overnight to keep the airfield clear,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a message on X.
Starting Monday the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) below normal as the polar vortex stretches down from the high Arctic.
In Chicago on Sunday, temperatures hovered in the teens (minus 7 to 10 degrees C) and around zero in Minneapolis (minus 18 C), while dropping to 11 below (minus 24 C) in International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday evening ahead of the storm and encouraged residents to vote early on Saturday ahead of the state’s special elections Tuesday in a statement on X.
Similar declarations were issued in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and multiple cities in central Illinois.
“This is the real deal,” meteorologist John Gordon said at a press conference in Louisville, Kentucky. “Are the weather people blowing this out of proportion? No.”
Officials in Annapolis asked residents to remove vehicles from emergency snow routes. The historic state capital near the Chesapeake Bay also announced plans to open several garages Sunday for free parking.
The National Weather Service predicted 8 to 12 inches (about 20 to 30 centimeters) of snow for the Annapolis area, with temperatures remaining below freezing throughout the weekend.
In Baltimore, an extreme weather alert was issued instructing agencies to provide shelter and assistance for those in need. City officials said wind chills were expected to dip to 13 degrees Fahrenheit (-10.56 degrees Celsius) overnight Saturday and remain in the teens through Tuesday.
In Louisiana, crews were racing to find a manatee that was spotted in Lake Pontchartrain before the cold temperatures hit. The manatee was first seen New Year’s Eve in the Mandeville area.
While manatees are common in the area during the summer, winter sightings are a concern since they can begin to experience cold stress symptoms when the temperature falls below 68 degrees (20 Celsius).
“We are doing everything we can to get our hands on this animal,” said Gabriella Harlamert, stranding and rehab coordinator for Audubon Aquarium Rescue in New Orleans.
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Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment
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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed. Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland.
