WASHINGTON – A deadly winter storm that blanketed the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions in snow largely subsided by Tuesday morning, leaving bitterly cold temperatures in its wake as tens of thousands remained without power and closures persisted.
The storm hammered a swath of the country from Kansas and Missouri to Virginia and New Jersey with heavy snow and ice, triggering emergency declarations as disruptions piled up on roads and at airports. The storm broke daily snowfall records in states across the central and eastern U.S.
The heavy snow prompted widespread school closures and the shuttering of federal office buildings in Washington, D.C., which continued on Tuesday as snow still covered the city. The inclement weather also impacted the schedule of Tuesday’s funeral events to honor former President Jimmy Carter.
Snow and ice made driving conditions treacherous and led to widespread delays and cancellations at airports. Major highways, including I-70, closed amid the hazards, though hundreds of motorists still became stranded in blizzard-like conditions.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses from Missouri to Virginia woke up in the dark on Tuesday, down from over 280,000 reported outages a day earlier. Many without power lived in areas experiencing wind chills below zero, including in Virginia and West Virginia, where cold weather advisories were active Tuesday morning.
Developments:
∎ A ground stop was issued for flights departing Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington D.C. Tuesday morning “due to snow or ice,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
∎ The weather delayed by 90 minutes a service for former President Jimmy Carter in the Capitol Rotunda where members of Congress will pay their respects before Carter lies in state Tuesday night and Wednesday.
How much snow fell across the US?
Snowfall, sleet and freezing rain from this winter storm impacted about a dozen states between Saturday morning and Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Here are some of the preliminary snowfall totals:
Alexandria, Virginia: 11.3 inches
Washington, D.C.: 8.3 inches
Topeka, Kansas: 17 inches
Waldorf, Maryland: 12.4 inches
Kansas City, Missouri: 10 inches
Burchard, Nebraska: 6.4 inches
Wildwood Crest, New Jersey: 8 inches
Another storm to bring snow from Texas eastward
Just as much of the country is clearing snow from driveways and sidewalks this week, another storm is set to bring a snow and ice to cities that don’t usually get much of it, forecasters said.
This next storm will begin to spread snow and ice from the Texas/Mexico border Wednesday night and eventually track across much of the southern and potentially eastern U.S. toward the end of the week. Its path in the east is not yet certain, but AccuWeather said it could bring additional impacts to areas of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic states and even New England, depending on the exact path that it takes.
“In places that don’t get snow or ice very often, such as Austin, Dallas, Little Rock, and Nashville, it will be a big deal,” AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines told USA TODAY Monday.
-Doyle Rice
Richmond remains under boil water advisory
Residents in Richmond, Virginia, woke up under a boil water advisory Tuesday with many reporting a complete loss in service after a winter storm caused a power outage that disrupted operations at the city’s water treatment plant on Monday.
Mayor Danny Avula said at a news conference Tuesday morning that crews managed to get two pumps running and – if they continue filling up water tanks – pressure should return to resident’s faucets “somewhere in the four to six hour range.”
“I say that with some hesitancy given the fact that the plant has sustained a lot of water damage,” he cautioned.
The last time Richmond faced a boil water advisory was in 2003 during Hurricane Isabel, according to a statement from the city. The local sheriff’s office has partnered with other agencies, including the American Red Cross, to distribute bottled water to the city’s homeless population.
Hundreds of schools remain closed after winter storm
Widespread school closures were in place Tuesday as snow and ice remained a travel hazard throughout the central and eastern U.S.
School districts shuttered classrooms for a second day in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington D.C.
While hundreds of schools did not reopen Tuesday, many planned to hold classes online. Monday was scheduled to be many students’ first day back after winter break.
More than 200k without power across central, eastern US
Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses woke up without power Tuesday morning.
The state with the most blackouts was Virginia with 62,000 reported outages, followed by Kentucky, 33,000; West Virginia, 33,000; Indiana, 32,000; Illinois, 23,000; and Missouri, 19,000, according to PowerOutage.us.
Bitter cold temperatures worsened by high winds have settled across the Mid-Atlantic region Tuesday morning, prompting weather officials to urge residents to seek warmth.
“Very cold temperatures combined with power outages may cause difficulties concerning heating,” the weather service office in Blacksburg, Virginia, said, warning 40 mph wind gusts.
Flight cancellations, delays persist
More than 130 flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C. have been canceled as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to FlightAware. The airport temporarily closed its runways Monday night so crews could remove snow and focus on preventing refreezing on the airfield.
At Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, at least 110 flights have been canceled, FlightAware said.
Flights at LaGuardia Airport in New York City were delayed an average of 40 minutes “due to wind,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Storm-related deaths
The powerful winter storm has been tied to multiple deaths across the Midwest since it barreled over the region last weekend.
In Kansas, law enforcement officials said two people died in a weather-related crash in Sedgwick County, which encompasses the city of Wichita.
In Mound City, Missouri, a man was struck and killed by a sliding truck, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving a Transportation Department plow truck Saturday in Greenfield Township over the weekend.
Dangerous wind storm to hit California
As the Midwest and Atlantic grapple with the winter storm, California is facing its on threats from a “life-threatening, destructive, widespread” windstorm. The storm is expected to last from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning, and bring with it an enhanced risk for fires.
The storm will have the greatest impact in: Pasadena, Burbank, San Fernando, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Simi Valley, Sylmar, Porter Ranch, Altadena, La Crescenta, Malibu, Santa Gabriel / Santa Susana / Santa Monica Mountains and foothills, and the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys.
The National Weather Service also extended a wind advisory to include the North Bay Interior Valleys and Coast, San Francisco, the San Francisco Bayshore, and the East Bay Interior Valleys in the Bay Area.
“This is a Particularly Dangerous Situation – in other words, this is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the weather service in Los Angeles said.
Reprinted from USA Today
