US winter storm kills four as millions affected by snow, ice and bitter cold | Weather in the United States

Millions of Americans were hit Monday by a major winter storm that brought heavy snow, ice, strong winds and freezing temperatures as it moved east out of the center of the country and in the mid-Atlantic region.

The U.S. National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings and advisories extending from Kansas and Missouri to New Jersey as moderate to heavy snowfall is expected from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic region.

A state of emergency was declared Monday morning in several states, including Kansas, Missouri, Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington DC, Arkansas and parts of New Jersey, authorities urging people to stay at home and stay off the roads. .

The storm is expected to produce between 6 and 12 inches of snow across the Mid-Atlantic region, including the Washington, D.C. metro area, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm hit the Midwestern region of the United States over the weekend and brought heavy snow and ice to roads in areas including Kansas and Missouri.

Kansas City International Airport recorded 11 inches of snow on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. This is the fourth largest single-day snowfall total in Kansas City since records began in 1888.

In Topeka, Kansas, the weather service reported 14.5 inches of snow, which was the third-highest single-day snowfall on record in that area.

In Ohio, a record snowfall of 8.4 inches was recorded Sunday in Cincinnati, breaking the record of 6.9 inches set in 1977.

As of Sunday evening, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported 1,043 stranded motorists, 356 crashes, 31 injuries and one death related to the storm.

Additionally, Missouri State Police reported another person was killed after being struck by a dump truck sliding on a slippery road in Jackson County.

Two people were also reported killed in a single-vehicle crash in Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sunday evening, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

On Monday, the weather service said an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow was expected to fall across parts of the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians, where travel disruptions will continue.

The National Weather Service recorded 18 inches of snow in Kansas and several feet of snow in upstate New York on Monday morning.

As the storm moves toward the Mid-Atlantic region, Washington is expected to receive up to an inch of snow per hour Monday morning, and travel conditions are expected to deteriorate.

As of 9 a.m. Eastern Monday, more than 300,000 customers were experiencing power outages in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia and Illinois, according to PowerOutage.us.

Additionally, more than 1,800 flights in the United States have been canceled, according to FlightAware.com. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported the highest number of cancellations so far, with 259 departing flights and 212 arriving flights canceled as of 1:30 p.m. ET.

Schools and government offices were closed Monday in several affected areas, including parts of Washington, Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania and others.

All federal offices in the Washington area were also closed Monday.

Between 1 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. local time Monday, Maryland State Police, one of the states under a state of emergency, reported responding to 475 calls for service, including 123 accidents reported and 156 unattended vehicles.

In Kentucky, police said Monday they have helped nearly 300 stranded motorists since the storm began and responded to more than 1,450 calls, representing a 70% increase in calls compared to normal Sundays and Mondays.

And even southern states like Texas, Louisiana and Florida were expecting wind chills and subzero temperatures in some areas on Monday. The National Weather Service has issued freeze warnings for parts of Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.

The frigid weather has been attributed to disruptions in the polar vortex, a large three-dimensional ring of strong winds. Normally, the polar vortex revolves around the North Pole, but it sometimes extends as far as the United States, Europe or Asia.

So far this winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the polar vortex has contributed to temperatures as low as -67F (-55C) in Siberia. And currently, the most intense part of the vortex has moved towards North America.

According to the Associated Press, studies show that rapid warming in the Arctic is partly responsible for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its reach.