A winter blast of snow, ice and bitter cold has swept across the United States

A severe winter blast of snow, ice, wind and freezing temperatures across the U.S. caused hazardous travel conditions from the central and southern states to the East Coast early Monday morning, forcing schools and government agencies to close in several states.

Snow and ice blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state National Guard was activated to help stranded drivers. At least 8 inches of snow is expected along with wind gusts up to 45 mph.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from Kansas and Missouri to New Jersey.

“For places in this region that have seen the most snow, this could be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said.

Gary Wright wore a parka as he and his husband chipped away at thick ice covering his SUV in a slippery parking lot at an apartment in Missouri. Wright said he will be working remotely on Monday but wanted to scrape his car to spend some time in the snow. He’s also looking for boots for their two older dogs that “won’t budge at all” when their paws hit the cold ground.

A polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually revolves around the North Pole. People in the US, Europe and Asia feel its intense cold as the vortex breaks out and falls south.

Research shows that the rapid warming of the Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex, which is expanding its icy grip.

The class has been cancelled

School closures are expected to be widespread on Monday. Counties in Indiana, Virginia and Kentucky began announcing cancellations and delays Sunday afternoon. Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes, extracurricular activities and athletics for its nearly 100,000 students.

Classes were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency on Sunday and announced that the state government would shut down on Monday.

“Keeping Marylanders safe is our top priority. Please stay off the roads during this inclement weather. Prepare your home and family and charge your communication devices in case of power outages,” Moore said in a statement.

Car wrecks multiply during a storm

At least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri over the weekend. Hundreds of car crashes have been reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a police officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Bescher, who declared a state of emergency, said government buildings would be closed Monday.

“We’re seeing too much wreckage for people who shouldn’t be on the roads, so I want to ask: stay inside,” Bescher said.

Virginia State Police reported at least 135 crashes as the storm approached the state on Sunday. In Charleston, West Virginia, where several inches of snow had fallen by Sunday night, authorities urged motorists to stay indoors.

Snow and ice are in the forecast

In Indiana, snow blanketed parts of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and US Route 41, prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads as plows worked to keep up.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snowplows are coming through and then within half an hour the roads are completely covered again,” said Sgt. said Todd Ringle.

About 10 inches of snow fell in Kansas, with totals expected to top 14 inches in parts of the state and northern Missouri.

Louisville, Kentucky recorded 7.7 inches of snow on Sunday, a new record for the date, surpassing the previous mark of 3 inches set in 1910.

The storm is expected to move into the Ohio Valley and reach the Mid-Atlantic states on Monday, with severe frost expected as far south as Florida. Wind knocked down trees in the Deep South on Sunday.

Air and rail transportation also deteriorated sharply

The storms wreaked havoc on the nation’s passenger railways, with more than 20 cancellations on Sunday and about 40 on Monday.

“If local authorities are telling people not to travel, it’s not smart to try to run a full slate of service when people are being told to stay home,” Amtrak spokesman Mark Magliari said.

Nearly 200 flights to and from St. Louis Lambert International Airport have been canceled, according to data from tracking platform FlightAware.

Temperatures are falling

Forecasters said the eastern two-thirds of the US will experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills starting Monday. The temperature may be 12-25 degrees below normal.

Temperatures in Chicago hovered in the low-teens on Sunday, while International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border, dropped to 11 degrees.

National Weather Service meteorologist John Palmer of Gray, Maine, said the northeastern states are more likely to see a few cold days after a mostly mild start to the winter.

Cold air will likely sweep across the eastern U.S. as far as Georgia, with parts of the East Coast experiencing lows in the single digits, Palmer said.