Powerful winter storm brings heavy snow and extreme cold across large swath of the United States

According to the NWS, Winter Storm Warnings have been issued from the southern Rockies and southern Plains through the Mid-Atlantic and New England, while Ice Storm Warnings are in effect from Central Texas to the western Carolinas. Extreme Cold Watches, Warnings and Cold Weather Advisories cover wide areas of the Plains, Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, the Southeast and New England.

The storm system intensified along a surface frontal boundary near the Gulf Coast, drawing unusually high moisture into the south-central and eastern United States as Arctic air surged southward. Doppler radar data showed widespread wintry precipitation stretching from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Heavy snowfall has been reported on the northern side of the system, affecting areas from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic. To the south, sleet and freezing rain have been falling from the southern Plains into parts of the southern Mid-Atlantic. Temperatures across much of the affected region have dropped into the single digits and teens.

Forecasters warn that the storm is expected to continue through Monday, delivering widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain from the south-central United States to the Northeast. Snowfall totals may exceed one foot across large portions of the Southern Rockies, the Plains, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast.

South of the heaviest snow band, significant sleet accumulations of 1 to more than 3 inches are possible, creating severe travel disruptions that could persist for several days. Further south, widespread freezing rain is forecast to affect parts of the Southern Plains, the Lower Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley, the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic.

The NWS cautioned that prolonged power outages, extensive tree damage and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions are likely. In areas where ice accumulation exceeds half an inch - with locally more than one inch possible in northern Louisiana, central and northern Mississippi, southern Tennessee and the southern Appalachian region - impacts could be catastrophic and last up to a week.

In the storm’s aftermath, communities from the Southern Plains to the Northeast are expected to face bitterly cold temperatures, complicating clean-up efforts and prolonging infrastructure damage and hazardous travel conditions into early next week.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that eighteen U.S. states had declared a state of emergency as a powerful winter storm swept across large parts of the country, leading to widespread travel disruptions and flight cancellations.