Next wave of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern United States

Annapolis, Maryland —

The next wave of bitter cold is expected to envelop the southern United States on Tuesday, after the first significant winter storm of the year swept a large swath of the country in ice, snow and wind.

The massive storm system disrupted even parts of the country that usually escape the wrath of winter, felling trees in some Southern states, threatening to freeze Florida over and forcing residents of Dallas to dig deep into their cupboards to find hats and gloves.

By Tuesday morning, wind chill temperatures could drop to minus 10.5 from Texas across the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A low pressure system is then expected to form as early as Wednesday near southern Texas, bringing the potential for snow to parts of the state, including Dallas, as well as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The polar vortex that turned south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in an icy grip Monday, making many roads unsafe, forcing school closures and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations.

Ice and snow covered major highways in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts up to 45 mph. Warnings extended to New Jersey through Tuesday morning.

A Kentucky truck stop was filled with large trucks forced off an icy and snowy Interstate 75 Monday, just outside Cincinnati. Michael Taylor, a long-haul driver from Los Angeles hauling a load of carpet to Georgia, said he saw many cars and trucks stuck in ditches and dealt with icy windshield wipers before leaving the highway.

“It was too dangerous. I didn’t want to kill myself or kill anyone else,” he said.

The polar vortex of ultracold air generally orbits the North Pole, but it sometimes dips south toward the United States, Europe, and Asia. Studies show that rapid warming in the Arctic is partly responsible for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex expanding its grip.

Temperatures are falling across the country

Two-thirds of the eastern United States faced bitter cold and wind chills on Monday, with temperatures in some areas well below normal.

A cold weather advisory will go into effect early Tuesday for the Gulf Coast. In Austin, the capital of Texas, and surrounding cities, wind chills could dip as low as -9.4°C.

The Northeast was expected to see several cold days.

The transport was difficult

Hundreds of car crashes have been reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 430 crashes Sunday and Monday, including one fatality. Police said other weather-related fatal crashes occurred Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kansas experienced two fatal accidents this weekend.

More than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more were delayed nationwide as of Monday evening, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported that about 58% of arrivals and 70% of departures were canceled.

A record more than 8 inches of snow fell at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sunday, leading to dozens of flight cancellations that persisted into Monday. About 10 centimeters fell Monday in the Cincinnati area, where car and truck crashes closed at least two major roads leading into downtown.

More snow and ice expected

In Indiana, snow-covered stretches of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41 have authorities imploring people to stay home.

“It’s snowing so hard that the snowplows are coming by and in less than a half hour the roads are completely covered again,” said State Police Sgt. » said Todd Ringle.

Tens of thousands of people are without electricity

Many were in the dark as temperatures plummeted. More than 218,000 customers were without power Monday evening in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina, according to the utility tracking website. electricity PowerOutage.us.

In Virginia’s capital, a power outage caused a temporary malfunction of the water supply system, authorities announced Monday afternoon. Richmond authorities have asked residents of this city of more than 200,000 to refrain from drinking tap water or washing dishes without first boiling the water. The city also asked people to conserve their water, such as by taking shorter showers.

City officials said they are working around the clock to get the system back online.