Blizzard conditions to continue for Kansas and Missouri, storm to reach Appalachians and mid-Atlantic this afternoon
Blizzard conditions will continue through tonight for parts of Kansas and Missouri due to 50 mph wind gusts and heavy snow, which could reduce visibility to under a quarter of a mile.
Snow and ice will reach the Appalachians this afternoon, shifting into the mid-Atlantic by tonight and early tomorrow morning. Snow and freezing rain will continue through the day tomorrow in the mid-Atlantic region before dissipating early Tuesday.
A band of 8 to 14 inches of snow will extend from Kansas through the Appalachians, with localized higher amounts of 18 inches possible in Kansas and Missouri. Expected snowfall amounts include:
Kansas City: 7 to 14 inches
St. Louis: 4 to 10 inches
Indianapolis: 6 to 9 inches
Cincinnati: 6 to 12 inches
Baltimore/Washington D.C.: 5 to 9 inches
Philadelphia: 2 to 4 inches
New York City: dusting
Significant icing and freezing rain will spread from central Kansas through the Appalachians leading to impossible travel conditions and potential power outages. Ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.5 inches will be common, with localized amounts up to 0.75 inches possible.
Large snowflakes fall from sky in southern Kentucky
Video posted to social media shows large snowflakes falling in Monroe County, Kentucky.
Thundersnow hits Kansas City as winter storm dumps more than 11 inches in parts of Midwest
As of 11 a.m. ET, multiple reports of thundersnow have emerged, including in Kansas City, highlighting the intensity of the winter storm sweeping through the region. Here are the latest snowfall totals:
11 inches — Tipton, Kan.
10 inches — Beloit, Kan.
8 inches — Ada, Kan.
4 inches — Topeka, Kan.
3 inches — Saint Jacob, Ill.
3 inches — Princeton, Ind.
2.2 inches — Hastings, Neb.
Power outages reported in several states
More than 66,000 customers are without power as of 11 a.m. ET today, according to data from Poweroutage.us. Here’s a breakdown of the most affected states:
North Carolina: 29,019
Missouri: 16,632
Kansas: 10,224
Texas: 7,226
Kentucky: 3,452
Major winter storm threatens much of the U.S. with intense cold, snow and ice
Tens of millions of Americans are bracing for a massive winter storm today, forecast to bring the heaviest snowfall and coldest temperatures in over a decade to parts of the country.
Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia have declared states of emergency as the storm, driven by a polar vortex, moved east after striking the central United States. Southern states like Mississippi and Florida also warned of dangerous cold and treacherous conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
A polar vortex is an area of low pressure and cold air that swirls like a wheel around each of Earth’s two polar regions. Sometimes, the Arctic polar vortex wobbles and a lobe surges south, blanketing parts of North America with bitter temperatures.
As the storm moved east, around 60 million people across 30 states from the Plains to the mid-Atlantic were under weather alerts, with a developing low-pressure system threatening heavy snow and crippling ice over the next three days.