no way major winter storm Heavy snow, significant ice and cold temperatures are expected to begin Saturday across the central United States and move east over the next few days, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service says more than 32 million people are under winter warnings across an area spanning more than 1,500 miles from Kansas to the East Coast.
A mix of snow, ice and plummeting temperatures worsened road conditions across the central United States on Saturday, with forecasts predicting the scary combo would spread east in the coming days.
“Winter is back,” declared Bob Oravec, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
Here’s what you need to know about the storm expected to affect millions of people in the eastern two-thirds of the United States.
A large-scale winter storm occurs
A large system made landfall along the West Coast Friday afternoon, bringing rain to the Pacific Northwest with snow expected in the Cascade Mountains, according to meteorologists.
This system will be responsible for the development of major winter storms from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic this weekend into early next week.
Severe travel delays are possible as the storm reaches the mid-Atlantic region Sunday night into Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Some major airlines have taken Steps to help travelers rebook their upcoming flights There are no change fees. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have all waived change fees for passengers traveling in the Mid-Atlantic due to weather-related flight disruptions.
Snow falling across the Central Plains, moving east
Heavy snowfall is likely through Saturday evening for areas between central Kansas and Indiana, especially north of Interstate 70, with at least 8 inches (20.3 cm) of snow likely to fall in these areas.
For areas that typically receive the heaviest snowfall, this could be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade, meteorologists said.
The storm will then move into the Ohio Valley, where significant travel disruptions are expected. It will reach the Mid-Atlantic states Sunday through Monday.
Blizzard conditions are possible
Wind gusts greater than 35 mph (56 km/h) and heavy snow could bring blizzard conditions to areas near Kansas and the Central Plains, especially through Sunday morning.
Whiteout conditions can make driving dangerous or impossible and can increase your risk of becoming stranded.
Freezing rain expected from eastern Kansas to the Ozarks
Dangerous sleet and freezing rain, especially harmful to power lines, is also expected to fall starting Saturday from eastern Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and much of West Virginia.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Saturday ahead of a severe winter storm system that will impact much of the state. The storm is expected to begin Sunday, Jan. 5, and will bring snow, freezing rain, ice and arctic temperatures, his office said.
“This winter storm is likely to cause significant disruption and hazardous conditions on our roads and could result in significant power outages just 24 hours before it gets dangerously cold,” Beshear said.
Hazardous travel conditions are expected in areas where ice accumulates more than 0.5 cm, with the possibility of power outages.
“This is going to be chaotic and potentially disastrous,” said private meteorologist Ryan Maue.
Cold Arctic air blasts as far south as Florida
Starting Monday, hundreds of millions of people in the eastern two-thirds of the United States will experience dangerous, bone-chilling air and wind chills, forecasters said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers to prepare for cold temperatures through next week. Governor Hochul said: “While we continue to respond to lake effect snow across the state, the Arctic blast is expected to bring dangerously cold temperatures this weekend through next Friday.
As the polar vortex extends down from the North Pole, temperatures can be 12 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) cooler than usual.
“This could result in the coldest January for the U.S. since 2011,” Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s director of forecast operations, said Friday, adding that “temperatures well below historical averages could persist for up to a week or more.”
The largest drops above normal are likely to be centered around the Ohio Valley, but severe and unusual cold could extend south to the Gulf Coast, said Danny Barandiaran, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
Severe freezes are also expected in Florida, he added.
“The wind chill is going to be brutal,” said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Institute. “Just because the Earth is warming doesn’t mean these cold spells are going away.”
Rapid warming in the Arctic could trigger weather
Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at the private company Atmospheric and Environmental Research, said the brutal weather may have been triggered in part by a rapidly warming Arctic.
The polar vortex (a phenomenon in which extremely cold air spins like a top) usually stays above the North Pole. However, sometimes it extends to the United States, Europe, and Asia, causing extreme cold waves.
Cohen and colleagues have published several studies showing increased stretching, or wandering, of the polar vortex. Cohen and others published a study last month that found the outbreak of cold waves was partly due to changes in the Arctic, which is warming four times faster than the rest of the Earth.
