Blizzard hits the United States: “For some, the heaviest snowfall in more than a decade”

A winter storm already brought snow, ice and freezing temperatures to much of the US on Sunday, and a slew of states will be hit again on Monday. About 60 million people in 18 states must therefore take winter weather warnings and advisories into account.

Snowstorms already hit Kansas and parts of northwestern Missouri on Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. Roads were covered in snow and ice and authorities urged residents to avoid travel.

By Monday morning (local time), millions of people will see snowfall, from St. Louis and Washington, DC, to the entire states of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Even New York City could get light snow or snowflakes early Monday.

In northern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, freezing rain will cause “dangerous ice accumulations,” the weather service said. The tail end of the storm system, meanwhile, is also producing severe thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

“For some, this could be the heaviest snowfall in more than a decade,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather forecast center warned.

The storm forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including more than 275 in both Kansas City and St. Louis, according to aviation tracking website FlightAware. Governors in several states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia and Virginia, have already declared states of emergency.

The storm will move away from the coast Monday evening, but then frigid Arctic air will move in, with daytime temperatures expected to be 10 to 20 degrees below average on Monday and Tuesday.