A major winter storm sweeping across the United States has left hundreds of thousands without power and caused widespread travel disruptions. The storm, which began in the Midwest over the weekend, brought heavy snow, ice, strong winds, and freezing temperatures as it moved eastward into the mid-Atlantic region on Monday. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and advisories across a vast area, from Kansas and Missouri to New Jersey.
The intensity of the storm led to states of emergency being declared in at least seven states: Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, and parts of New Jersey. Officials urged residents to stay home and avoid travel. The mid-Atlantic region, including the Washington, D.C. metro area, was projected to receive six to twelve inches of snow. The storm’s impact in the Midwest was already severe: Kansas City International Airport recorded 11 inches of snow—its fourth-largest single-day snowfall since 1888—while Topeka saw 14.1 inches, its third highest. In Missouri alone, the state highway patrol reported 1,043 stranded motorists, 356 crashes, 31 injuries, and one fatality on Sunday night. Further tragic consequences included a death caused by a dump truck accident in Jackson County, Missouri, and two fatalities in a single-vehicle crash in Sedgwick County, Kansas.
The disruption continued into Monday, with the National Weather Service forecasting an additional two to four inches of snow across parts of the Ohio Valley and Central Appalachians. Washington, D.C., was expected to see snowfall rates of up to one inch per hour. By 9 a.m. ET, over 300,000 customers were experiencing power outages across multiple states, including Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us. FlightAware.com reported over 1,500 flight cancellations nationwide, with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport experiencing the highest number of cancellations. Numerous schools and government offices, including all federal offices in the Washington area, were closed. Even Southern states like Texas, Louisiana, and Florida experienced below-freezing temperatures and wind chills, prompting freeze warnings in several areas.
Scientists attribute this extreme weather to disturbances in the polar vortex, a ring of strong winds normally circulating around the North Pole. Recent shifts in the vortex have brought frigid Arctic air southward, contributing to temperatures as low as -67°F (-55°C) in Siberia earlier this winter. Currently, the most intense part of the vortex is positioned over North America. According to the Associated Press, studies suggest a rapidly warming Arctic may be increasing the frequency of these polar vortex disruptions.