Snowstorm barrels across eastern US as 100M face freezing temperatures
A cross-country winter storm dumped snow over parts of the eastern U.S. on Wednesday, delaying travel and prompting widespread closures as a blast of Arctic air stretched into the South, plunging temperatures to dangerous lows from the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast.
Wednesday afternoon, moderate snowfall was ongoing across North Carolina and the southern Mid-Atlantic and is expected to fall though Thursday morning for these regions, the National Weather Service said.
As the storm heads east, it was expected to unload as much as 6 to 12 inches of snow across Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware by Thursday morning, according to AccuWeather. The heaviest snow could close roads and ground flights, officials warned.
The storm dumped several inches of snow over states like Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia that were ravaged by a deadly rainstorm last weekend. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear urged residents to stay off the roads and asked that those without power find somewhere to stay while temperatures remain below freezing.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared states of emergency on Tuesday ahead of the snowstorm. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he would have issued a similar declaration if the state was not already under a state of emergency because of the flooding.
As snow and high winds threaten to snarl traffic and slow disaster recovery efforts, Arctic air is setting in across the central and eastern U.S., triggering cold weather advisories for over 100 million residents.
Kentucky contends with heavy snow and flooding
Beshear said at a news conference Wednesday morning that parts of western Kentucky had received eight inches of snow by 11:30 a.m. Areas in central and eastern Kentucky recorded accumulations of 2 to 4 inches, he said, adding that more snow was expected to arrive Wednesday night.
Beshear asked residents to stay in a heated home or shelter, and warned that icy conditions have begun to make road travel treacherous. For those who must get on the road, he said to stay clear of barricades, noting that several water rescues occurred Tuesday because people had ignored road closures and became stranded in floodwaters from the weekend rainstorm.
On top of that, blistering temperatures posed a major threat. He said two people believed to have been homeless died of hypothermia this week.
"We are experiencing a snowstorm on top of a flooding event," Beshear said.
Extreme weather in Kentucky this week is 'not typical'
It is unusual to get a high-impact flood event followed by a significant winter storm, National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Orrison told Paste BN Wednesday. "This is not typical in February."
He said what was most unusual about the extreme weather in Kentucky this week was how severe the flooding was. "We normally don't see that level of flooding rainfall in Kentucky in the middle of February," Orrison said, adding that it would typically be more common in April or May.
As much as 8 inches of rain fell in some parts of Kentucky, he said. Adding to the misery in the state is the near-record cold. Widespread temperatures in the single digits are predicted for early Thursday in many areas.
– Doyle Rice
Tennessee residents, dogs take in the flurry of snow
In Nashville, dogs Dixie and Toby were excitedly pulling at their leashes Wednesday morning, trying to run across fresh piles of snow. Meanwhile, their owners were eyeing a hill to sled down after work.
Art and Chelsea Martinez were some of the only residents of a large Nashville apartment complex braving the cold, joined only by a few people scraping windshields and the maintenance man driving his golf cart through the salted, wet road.
Chelsea had suggested to Art that they get out later and enjoy the snow. Maybe they’d just walk around, but that didn’t seem fun enough so Art suggested they take their makeshift sled down a hill. They scoped out a couple of possible locations nearby. But even if they didn’t get around to sledding, they could still start a fire in their fireplace and have a cup of hot cocoa.
“We actually have a chimney in our unit,” Chelsea said. “We might enjoy a fire tonight.”
– Evan Mealins, The Tennessean
Florida will finally feel the chill Thursday
A cold front is sweeping through Florida Wednesday afternoon and is bringing the chance of showers and thunderstorms, the National Weather Service said. "More importantly, Florida will join the millions of people experiencing this Arctic air outbreak," noted weather service meteorologist Hayden Wilder in an online forecast.
High temperatures will drop from the 70s and 80s to the 50s and 60s and low temperatures in the 30s as far south as Orlando by later this week, he said. – Doyle Rice
Hundreds of flights canceled, delayed as snowstorm tracks east
Multiple airports have reported significant delays as a snowstorm barrels toward the East Coast.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina has had over 225 flight cancellations as of 1:30 p.m. local time, according to FlightAware. Raleigh-Durham International Airport has reported at least 70 cancellations.
Elsewhere, more than 145 flights have been canceled and 540 have been delayed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Dozens of flights have been canceled at Nashville International Airport, FlightAware said.
The Federal Aviation Administration warned Wednesday that weather could impact major airports throughout the Mid-Atlantic, including those serving Washington, D.C., New York and Boston.
Traffic crashes reported across Tennessee amid snowstorm
Police officials in Tennessee reported dozens of traffic crashes Wednesday morning as several inches of snow blanketed the state.
Nashville police have responded to reports of 13 injury wrecks and 31 property damage wrecks from 5 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., department spokesman Don Aaron told the Tennessean, part of the Paste BN Network. A number of crashes have occurred on interstates, according to a tracker on Nashville.gov.
In Clarksville, a city about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, there have been 14 injury crash reports since 7 p.m. Tuesday as well as 61 property damage incidents.
East of Nashville, police in Lebanon responded to seven crashes, including three on State Route 109. Police in Rutherford County reported an incident involving 12 cars stuck on a hill with no place to turn around.
– Andy Humbles, The Tennessean
Record low temperatures already hit in North Dakota; more could come
The National Weather Service said temperatures in the city of Bismarck reached negative 35 degrees this week, breaking a 150 year-old record. Record low temperatures were also recorded in Dickinson and Williston.
As the Arctic air stretches into the South and Gulf Coast, numerous low-temperature records are expected to be broken. The weather service has issued extreme cold warnings across most of the central U.S. including states as far South as Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.
"The dangerously cold wind chills as low as 30 below zero could result in hypothermia and could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes," said the weather service in Amarillo, Texas. "Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures."
Hundreds of school districts shutter schools amid frigid, snowy weather
Across vast swaths of the central and eastern U.S. public schools shut their doors on Wednesday because of dangerous weather conditions.
In the high planes, where wind chills could reach negative 40 degrees, dozens of schools in the Dakotas and Montana delayed the start of class or closed all together.
In the South, school cancellations abound, with whole districts in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and other states announcing closures on Wednesday. And with the most snow likely to arrive during midweek, the Mid-Atlantic region will see widespread closings as well.
Snowstorm complicates recovery efforts after deadly floods
The incoming snowstorm is bringing new dangers to areas that were devastated by a powerful storm that triggered deadly floods last weekend.
In Kentucky, Beshear said crews had to pivot from clearing roads and restoring power to preparing for the storm, which could bring 2 to 7 inches of snow to most of the state. A major concern is snow and ice blanketing roads that are already covered by debris and mudslides, further keeping some residents stranded.
Beshear said wind chills below zero could threaten lives of those without power.
"This is a snowstorm in the middle of a natural disaster," he said Tuesday.
Snow map: see how much has fallen across the country
(This story has been updated to add additional information.)