More than 150 million Americans in 26 states, stretching 2,000 miles from Texas to Maine, were under winter weather advisories Monday as a major winter storm plowed across the country.
The storm, which has already caused power outages and a number of pileups on icy roads, was expected to travel up the Northeast through Tuesday, bringing heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures, the National Weather Service said. Six inches to a foot of snow was forecast to stretch from the mid-Mississippi to the Ohio valleys, across the lower Great Lakes and into northern New England, according to the service.
It also warned about more power outages and significant travel disruptions across much of the southern Plains, as well as “bitterly cold air” that can result in “dangerous or life-threatening wind chills.”
Snow fell in east Texas, Arkansas, parts of Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio on Monday morning, with wind chills reaching minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit in Dallas and minus 26 in Kansas City.
Heavy snow was accumulating in Oklahoma City, where more than 6 inches has already fallen.
As the plains continue to grapple with the Arctic chill, the National Weather Prediction Center said numerous new record lows were established Monday, including minus 6 in Oklahoma City and 5 degrees in Dallas.
