Tens of millions of Americans are under snowstorm warnings as the country prepares for the coldest storm since 2011, expected to hit 30 central and eastern states.
The National Weather Service has warned that Storm Blair will bring frigid conditions across the country, from eastern Colorado to Massachusetts.
States of emergency have already been declared in Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri, where current temperatures below -10F are not normally seen.
Wind chills of -20F and even colder are forecast in Kansas, where the average low temperature for January is 21F, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In Kentucky, temperatures are expected to drop to 2 degrees Celsius, down from an average low of 26 degrees Celsius, and in Virginia, where average lows are usually around 28 degrees Celsius, the mercury will dip to 13 degrees Celsius .
Missouri is expected to see temperatures of 3F, while Arkansas could see temperatures as high as 21F.
The central states will be hit on Sunday morning, with the storm bringing up to five centimeters of snow and winds of 70 km per hour to the affected areas before moving east on Monday.
Meteorologists said a polar vortex which turns from the North Pole to the other side via the jet stream, ensures that the intense dose of cold air envelops the country.
Tens of millions of Americans are under snowstorm warnings as the country prepares for the coldest storm since 2011. The chart above shows the expected wind chill in Fahrenhiet
The Kansas City Chiefs team was among those stranded at the airport for hours on Saturday ahead of their final regular-season game against the Broncos.
As many as 72 percent of flights out of Kansas City International had been canceled by 10 a.m. Sunday as “rapid ice accumulation” forced officials to close the airport.
More travel chaos is expected on Sunday, with 1,176 flights delayed and 748 canceled in the US as of 10 a.m., according to the live tracking website Flight conscious.
Meanwhile, frigid weather has already led to collisions on the roads, including in Kansas, according to State Highway Patrolman Ben Gardner.
Gardner posted a video on
Meanwhile, frigid weather has already led to collisions on the roads, including in Kansas, according to State Highway Patrolman Ben Gardner.
Vehicles were involved in a major collision near Salina, Kansas, with video from the area showing the road resembling an ice rink.
Weather experts have warned against traveling “unless necessary” in states where snowstorm warnings are in effect.
Pictured: A woman braces herself against the frigid cold in Times Square, New York City, on Saturday as more snow moves across the US this weekend
Tens of millions of Americans are under warning of snowstorms as a major snowstorm will hit 30 central and eastern states on Sunday. (Image: A temperature gauge in Lowville, New York, on Saturday as winter storms blow from the west this weekend)
The National Weather Service said travel could be “very difficult to impossible” as snow blown by high winds creates a blizzard in the hardest-hit areas.
The Kansas City Chiefs team was among those stranded at the airport for hours Saturday ahead of their final regular-season game against the Broncos.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were among those who got off the plane in snowy Denver on Saturday night when their plane landed four hours late.
Meteorologists said this weekend’s snowfall could be the heaviest in a decade in areas accustomed to high snow totals.
Power outages will likely affect areas with more than half an inch of ice. “It’s going to be a mess, a potential disaster,” said meteorologist Ryan Maue.
Several businesses in the Kansas City area and the school district in the suburb of Independence, Missouri, said it may have to cancel classes for one or more days.
‘Now go where you’re going and stay where you are. If you must travel, consider packing a bag and staying where you are going,” the Missouri Department of Transportation said in a post on X.
Pictured: A car is stuck between two trucks during frigid weather in Kansas on Saturday
Pictured: A snow plow clears snow as the sun rises in Lowville, New York
Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s director of forecast operations, said it could be the coldest January since 2011 for the U.S. as a whole, with a week or more of “temperatures well below historical averages.”
The biggest drop in temperatures is expected to hit the Ohio Valley, and unusually cold climates will extend to the Gulf Coast, with a hard freeze even expected in Florida.
“The wind chills will be brutal,” said climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Institute. ‘The fact that the earth is warming does not mean that this cold wave will disappear.’
According to Judah Cohen of Atmospheric and Environmental Research, the rapidly warming Arctic could fuel the brutal cold as climate change leads to extreme weather events.
The polar vortex – ultra-cold air that spins like a top – usually stays over the North Pole, but sometimes extends into the US, Europe or Asia.
Cohen et al published a study last month with the increase in polar vortex spreading attributed in part to changes from an Arctic region that is warming four times faster than the rest of the world.