Winter storm brings heavy snow, freezing rain to Mid-Atlantic

A major winter storm will finish making its way from the central United States and the Midwest to the nation’s capital on Monday morning, after having punished several states with a mix of sleet, snow, blizzards and freezing rain.

Kansas was particularly hard hit. Most of the state was under winter storm and blizzard warnings on Sunday. In the Kansas City metropolitan area, residents sheltered in their homes amid roads covered in ice and snow, and roads deemed too dangerous to travel.

The rapidly falling snow accumulated more than four inches in two hours Sunday morning. Some areas experienced lightning and thunder along with wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour as the storm moved through the region.

“This is a rare snow storm for Kansas City,” Gary Lezak, a veteran meteorologist in the area, said Sunday. “It’s extremely cold. “This storm still has 12 hours left as the blizzard intensifies.”

The storm caused numerous accidents over the weekend. West of Salina, Kansas, a fire truck, several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles overturned. Several trucks spiraled into ditches as icy roads became impassable.

On Sunday morning, Ben Gardner, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper, shared on social media that he was at the intersection of I-135 and I-70 in Saline County, where Kansas Department of Transportation crews and emergency responders were battling weather and road conditions treacherous

“If you don’t need to travel, stay home,” he urged.

The National Weather Service warned that up to 15 inches of snow (the largest accumulation in a decade) was expected due to the storm, which would reduce visibility to dangerous levels and make travel “extremely dangerous.”

The Mid-Atlantic is bracing for snowfall and freezing rain.

On Monday, the storm will move into the Mid-Atlantic, where moderate to heavy snowfall is forecast to disrupt travel and daily routines. pittsburgh Snow was expected before the morning and afternoon commutes.

Weather Prediction Center winter storm severity still won’t be as high as Sunday’s moderate impactsHeavy rain, including hazardous driving conditions, is expected in parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia and southern Pennsylvania.

Several states in the storm’s path, including Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, W.V. and parts of New Jersey — have declared states of emergency, and Maryland has declared a state of readiness. The statements aim to improve states’ responses to the storm through various means.

Baltimore and Washington, D.C., are expected to receive new snow accumulations of three to five inches on Monday.

Widespread light and freezing rain will accompany the snow, stretching from Kentucky to the Mid-Atlantic, creating hazardous conditions and the potential for power outages.

Early Monday, more than 60,000 customers were without power in Kentucky and 50,000 were without power in Indiana, according to PowerOutage.usa tracking website.

The cold persists.

By Tuesday morning, the snow is expected to taper off, although light snow may continue in parts of the central Appalachians. Cold and gusty weather is forecast for the next few days, with afternoon highs in the 30s in Washington and overnight lows in the 20s.

“It’s going to be pretty cold for much of the week,” said Bob Oravec of the Weather Prediction Center. From the eastern Rocky Mountains to the East Coast, temperatures will be 10 to 12 degrees below seasonal averages.

Yan Zhuang contributed with reports.