Central U.S. pummeled by snow, ice as major storm heads east

Dangerous wintry conditions descended Sunday on a large swath of the central United States as a severe storm system tracked eastward, prompting travel and work disruptions from Kansas City to Washington.

Around a dozen states from Kansas to New Jersey were under winter storm warnings Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), while areas across the U.S. South faced possible tornado and cold weather threats.

Nationwide, over 60 million people were under some sort of weather alert, according to broadcaster CNN, while air traffic monitoring site FlightAware showed almost 2,200 flight cancellations and over 25,000 delays.

Gusty winds from the storm system, the first of the year, brought blizzard conditions to Kansas and Missouri, while states farther east were blanketed in multiple inches of snow.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear implored residents to "please stay home" after reporting multiple vehicle crashes had closed a major highway.

The NWS also warned that accumulations of up to a half-inch of ice in some areas -- as well as widespread tree damage from powerful wind gusts -- could lead to "prolonged power outages."

A mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow began hitting Kansas early Sunday morning. Storm chaser Brian Emfinger said on X that roads around Kansas City were "a skating rink."

Video posted by the Weather Channel showed cars skidding off ice-coated highways and tractor trailers jack-knifing in Kansas, where some areas were expecting over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow.

"Areas of heavy snow will spread eastward through the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians tonight, reaching the northern Mid-Atlantic by Monday morning," the NWS said in an update.

Areas around Washington could see up to 10 inches overnight Sunday into Monday, making "hazardous travel and closings" likely, the Washington Post reported.

That could complicate the task of U.S. lawmakers, who by constitutional mandate must meet on Capitol Hill on January 6 to certify the winner of last year's presidential election.

"Whether we're in a blizzard or not," House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox News Sunday, "we cannot delay that certification... I hope we have full attendance."

A joint session is to convene at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Monday.

- Bitter cold -

With the jet stream diving southward, temperatures are expected to plunge, in some places to below zero degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius), while strong wind gusts compound the dangers.

The mercury could sink tens of degrees below seasonal norms down to the US Gulf Coast. Before then, severe thunderstorms are expected across the lower Mississippi Valley, the NWS forecast.

Another major concern is freezing rain and sleet. A thick coating of ice could make travel hazardous, bring down trees and topple electricity lines.

The NWS predicted up to 0.5 inches of freezing rain over parts of the Middle Mississippi/Ohio Valley, and warned that "long-lasting power outages" could leave millions of customers without power from Kansas to the central Appalachian Mountains.

Conditions could prove especially perilous in Appalachia, where a deadly hurricane in late September devastated communities and ravaged multiple southeastern states including Kentucky.

The new storm "will likely cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions on our roads and could cause significant power outages just 24 hours or so before it's going to get really cold in Kentucky," Governor Andy Beshear told an emergency meeting.

The governors of Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia have declared a state of emergency in their states, and have taken to social media to warn residents to stay home.

© Agence France-Presse