DENVER – On Monday, there were winter weather alerts and watches for fifty million Americans as at least 15 states were said to be affected by a “prolonged and potentially major icing storm.”
The National Weather Service warned that a large portion of the country, spanning from Texas to Ohio and Tennessee, was bracing for days of hazardous driving conditions as an arctic cold front moved into the southern Plains and Mid-South. According to the weather service, large amounts of freezing rain might fall in several areas of central Texas, southwest Oklahoma, and central Arkansas.
Early in the week, a large area of hazardous travel conditions will be created by the interaction of an arctic air mass and moisture, according to weather service meteorologist Craig Snell. For several days in a row, widespread hazardous travel conditions are anticipated to be caused by accumulations of sleet and freezing rain.
Ice-cold innovations
Over some areas of central Texas and Arkansas, a three-day ice buildup could be greater than half an inch. Tennessee may receive more than a quarter inch of ice in certain areas.
The weather agency warned that there may be scattered tree damage, power outages, and potentially hazardous road conditions.
In Maine, where minus 14-degree lows are predicted this week, thousands of residents will start getting $450 energy expense assistance payments.
In several areas of the Hawaiian islands, Monday is expected to bring heavy rain and flooding.
Texas is impacted by aircraft delays and icy conditions
According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, more than 1,100 flights were canceled on Monday due to icy weather in the United States. As more than 5,400 flights into or out of the United States were delayed, flight delays also increased.
Texas’ Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth International airports see the majority of the delays and cancellations.
A winter storm warning is in effect for a sizable chunk of Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth region, until Wednesday. The weather agency advised drivers to exercise caution due to the hazardous driving conditions.
The meteorological agency warned on Monday that “dangerous travel conditions are forecast throughout this time, including icy bridges/overpasses and surface streets.”
Denver sets a record low temperature: “It’s awful outside”
According to the National Weather Service, the nighttime low in Denver was minus 10, equal to the previous record from 1985. On Monday, the National Weather Service warned of wind chills as low as minus 19 degrees at Denver International Airport and negative 23 degrees on the state’s eastern plains.
Park ranger for the city of Denver Andrew Karras declared, “It’s very harsh out there.”
Like his coworkers, Karras was keeping tabs on those without a place to live who had turned down offers of temporary housing. In Denver, an estimated 2,000 individuals are homeless. Although it is forbidden to camp in public parks, rangers don’t enforce this rule when it’s chilly out and instead concentrate on providing caps, gloves, blankets, refreshments, and hand warmers to the homeless.
“Right now, we’re giving away a lot of hand warmers. They may sound like a Band-Aid, but they can prevent people’s fingers from becoming frozen “Karras said. “Nobody should perish from the cold, please. The most crucial matter at the moment is that.”
A lot of snow in the West and Great Lakes
Over some of the western Colorado mountains, there was expected to be a lot of snow. Traveling via some of the highest mountain passes may occasionally be challenging. Lake effect snow is predicted to fall early this week downwind of the Great Lakes farther east. Off Lake Superior and Lake Erie, the heaviest accumulations of more than 6 inches are likely.
Snow was falling Monday on Interstate 5 in Grapevine, stretching lower than usual in the Southern California mountains. The meteorological agency reported that because of the danger, vehicles were being guided over the motorway.
According to the weather service, travel issues on Highway 14 and other busy roads in some areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Monday are possible due to the low snow levels.
East will be hit by a cold front, but NYC will not see any snow
As a cold front moves through on Tuesday, spots of light snow are expected throughout the interior Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The following days will be much below average for the area, with some days falling as low as 50 degrees between Thursday and Saturday. On Saturday, temperatures will reach a low of 15 degrees in Washington, D.C.; 10 degrees in Philadelphia; and minus 6 degrees in Boston.
Snow is not anticipated to fall in New York City, which currently lacks the atmosphere of a winter wonderland. This winter’s snowfall hasn’t been measurable in the city, which is defined as at least one-tenth of an inch of snowfall that accumulates on the ground. A second record for the longest stretch of winter without snow in New York is about to be broken.
According to James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, there are currently 327 days without snow, which is just five short of the longest such streak, which ended in mid-December 2020.
To the north and west of the area, he stated, “Storm tracks and cold air have been persisting.”
Storm warning for Dallas-Fort Worth continues through Wednesday
A winter storm warning was issued for the Dallas-Fort Worth region and was in effect until Wednesday morning at six. The weather service predicted mixed precipitation, mostly in the form of sleet and/or freezing rain. The weather agency warned that “significant effects” to travel might start as early as Monday afternoon and last at least until Tuesday night. As temperatures hover at or around freezing, elevated surfaces like bridges and overpasses will be the first to become ice, slick, and dangerous.
By 6 a.m. on Monday, the Fort Worth office of the weather service reported receiving many complaints of traffic collisions. The office repeatedly encouraged drivers to slow down, especially on bridges and overpasses that are prone to black ice.
Later in the day, driving conditions in San Antonio, further south, were anticipated to be similar to those in the Metroplex.
The weather service headquarters in San Antonio advised people in the most affected areas to finish any last-minute travel arrangements before noon today. “This afternoon’s icy driving conditions could get worse very quickly.”
blasts of acrid cold Northeast, Midwest
According to the weather service, the same cold air that caused the Mid-frosty South’s prediction also contributed to a frigid start to the workweek in the center United Regions and some Western states. From the Middle High Plains to the Upper Midwest, some regions had temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below average on Monday.
As low as 55 below zero will be experienced in the northern Plains this morning due to brisk winds, according to the weather agency.
From Oregon to Wisconsin, wind chill warnings and advisories have been issued.