A system of snow, ice, wind and falling temperatures caused dangerous conditions for travelers in parts of the central United States on Sunday, while a disruptive winter storm created the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade.” ” in some areas.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri — where blizzard conditions are expected — to New Jersey.
In parts of Kansas and Indiana, where the state National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists, at least 8 inches of snow was expected, particularly north of Interstate 70.
“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it could be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the National Weather Service said early Sunday.
About 63 million people in the United States were under some type of winter weather watch, watch or warning on Sunday, according to Bob Oravec of the National Weather Service.
The polar vortex of extremely cold air usually remains confined around the North Pole, spinning like a top. But sometimes it escapes or spreads to the United States, Europe or Asia, and that is when large numbers of people experience intense doses of cold.
Studies show that a rapidly warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increase in the extent or displacement of the polar vortex.
Nearly 200 flights to and from St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled Sunday, according to tracking platform FlightAware.
Kansas City International Airport temporarily halted air operations Saturday afternoon due to ice. Dozens of flights were delayed, including a charter plane carrying the Kansas City Chiefs football team, before the runways reopened.
“Work will continue during the night to keep the airfield clear,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas in a publication on X.
Amtrak also canceled numerous trains due to the storm.
Starting Monday, the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerously bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters say. Temperatures could be 7 to 14 degrees Celsius below normal as the polar vortex extends from the Arctic.
Northeastern states are more likely to experience several cold days after what has been a mostly mild winter, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. A plume of cold air moving down from Canada is likely to result in a cold but dry week.
Cold air is likely to be present over the eastern half of the country and as far south as Georgia. Parts of the East Coast will experience freezing temperatures.
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