A powerful winter blast in the US has closed schools and government offices in several states

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland. 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. Nearly 300,000 customers were without power early Monday in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois and Missouri, according to the power tracking website PowerOutage.us.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzards produced wind gusts of up to 45 mph. Warnings extended to New Jersey on Monday and into early Tuesday.

“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 shoes for their two older dogs 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.

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.

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.

The class has been cancelled

School closures are expected to be widespread on Monday. Counties in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas 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 were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a police officer was treated for 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.

Road crews remained on duty overnight and were moving forward Monday morning, the state’s Transportation Cabinet said in a social media post. But the agency warned that ice is a problem on roads, especially in the center of the state and in the north, where there is more snow.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 230 crashes across the state involving more than 20 people between 4:00 p.m. Sunday and 4:00 a.m. Monday. There was one fatal crash, but it was unclear if it was storm-related, police said. 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.

14.5 inches (36.8 centimeters) were reported in Topeka, Kansas, around 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the weather service.

A record snowfall of 11 inches (28 centimeters) fell at Kansas City International Airport on Sunday, breaking the previous daily record of 10.1 inches (26 centimeters) set in 1962, according to the weather service in Kansas City, Missouri. Louisville, Kentucky recorded 7.7 inches (19.5 centimeters) of snow on Sunday, a new record for the date, surpassing the previous mark of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) set in 1910.

Severe travel delays are expected to continue Monday as the storm moves into the Mid-Atlantic, where another 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of snow is expected, the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center warned. Dangerously cold temperatures were expected to follow, with overnight lows dropping into the single digits by midweek across the Central Plains, Mississippi and Ohio Valley. In the Mid-Atlantic, lows are expected to drop into the mid-teens, with daytime highs near zero.

Severe frost is expected in southern Florida. Wind knocked down trees in the Deep South on Sunday.

Air and rail transportation also deteriorated sharply

The storms have wreaked havoc on the nation’s passenger railways, with more than 20 flights canceled on Sunday, more than 40 scheduled for Monday and two already scheduled for Tuesday.

“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.

According to tracking platform FlightAware, more than 1,400 flights were canceled and another 740 delayed across the country on Monday morning. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported 46% arrivals and 59% canceled departures.

Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland, and Whittle from Portland, Maine. Associated Press reporters Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Ky.; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Julie Walker in New York; Sophia Tarin in Chicago; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama and Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri contributed.