Blizzard causes major disruptions in US

Storm warnings put in place from Midwest to east coast

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WASHINGTON:

Blizzard and winter storm warnings were in effect across the Midwest on Sunday, as a massive weather system was forecast to hit the United States, dumping buckets of snow and snarling transport, including at least 46 airports from Kansas to New Jersey.

The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings in Kansas and Missouri, with a belt of winter storm and ice storm warnings stretching all the way to the US capital on the East Coast, putting an unusually broad 2,400-kilometre swath under immediate threat.

As the storm makes its way from west to east, a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow was forecast in Kansas early Sunday morning. But the latest forecast from the NWS suggested the worst was yet to come, with "heavy snowfall and wind gusts exceeding 40 mph [64 kmh]" expected in the state.

As the storm accumulates through Monday, "the snow will significantly reduce visibilities, and snowfall amounts will surpass 15 inches" – the heaviest in a decade – "which will make travel extremely hazardous, with impassable roads".

A band of 8-14 inches is expected to be dumped from northeast Missouri through the Central Appalachians, it said. Areas around Washington could see up to 10 inches of snow overnight Sunday into Monday, with "significant accumulations, hazardous travel and closings" likely.

Nearly 70 million people nationwide are under some sort of weather alert, according to broadcaster CNN, as the first major storm of 2025 had already wreaked havoc on travel, with Kansas City International Airport announcing closure of its flight operations Saturday.

Flight resumed later after airfield runways and taxiways were treated, Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas said in a social media post. With the jet stream diving southward, temperatures are expected to plunge, in some places to -18 degrees Celsius, while strong wind gusts will compound the dangers.

The mercury could sink tens of degrees below seasonal norms down to the US Gulf Coast. Another major concern is freezing rain and sleet expected from Kansas eastward to Kentucky and Virginia, setting the stage for thick ice to coat roads, making travel hazardous.

This would also bring down trees and electricity lines, and potentially leaving millions of customers without power during a cold snap. The NWS warned that it expected widespread tree damage and "long-lasting power outages" from Kansas to the central Appalachian Mountains.

Conditions could prove especially perilous in the Appalachians, where a deadly hurricane in late September devastated communities and ravaged multiple south-eastern states including Kentucky. Many of those communities are still recovering from the effects of that hurricane.

The governors of Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia have declared a state of emergency in their states, and they took to social media to warn residents to expect hazardous weather this weekend. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the new storm might cause dangerous conditions on our roads.