Officials across swathes of the southern U.S. closed schools, roads and even airports and urged residents to stay home on Monday as a severe winter storm was expected to inflict damage to states unaccustomed to such weather, including Texas. Areas bring heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures.
The storm is blowing strong Arctic air across the country this week, with dangerous wind chills and icy conditions expected.
Snowfall amounts of up to 10 inches could be possible in some places, with smaller accumulations disrupting daily life. National Weather Service meteorologist Bradley Brokamp said the Houston metropolitan area is preparing for “one of the historic snowfalls in recent history.” The area could see 4 to 6 inches of wet snow Monday night into Tuesday afternoon, he said.
The last time Houston recorded 6 inches of snow was in 1886.
Brokamp said Tuesday’s early morning commute could be “extremely dangerous,” and the National Weather Service advised drivers to stay off the roads “at all costs.”
More than 40 million people are under some form of severe winter weather warning. School campuses across the South were closed Tuesday due to the cold and heavy snow, in some cases from Austin and Houston to Baton Rouge and New Orleans to Tallahassee, Florida. The Carolinas and Georgia also announced delays.
Elsewhere in the country, temperatures in the northern Plains and upper Midwest are expected to reach minus ten degrees or single digits, while temperatures in the Rockies, central Plains and Midwest could reach single digits or teens. School closures were announced in parts of Iowa, Ohio and Minnesota as wind chills were expected to reach minus 20 to 30 degrees, along with snow.
Mark Chenard, a meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Service, said the southern storm system is expected to hit Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Heavy snow is expected along and near Interstate 10, with sleet and freezing rain expected in parts of southern Texas, southeastern Georgia and northern Florida.
Numerous freeze warnings have been issued for the Gulf Coast and northern Florida as sub-freezing morning temperatures could threaten sensitive plants and exposed pipes. The cold weather is expected to continue in the eastern and southern parts of the country over the coming days.
Department of Transportation crews in Texas and Louisiana were treating major highways with salt and brine Monday afternoon. The Texas Department of Transportation said 3,000 lane miles of roadway were treated Sunday.
Mr Chenard added that major travel disruptions such as flight delays and cancellations were also expected, given that these areas were not equipped to cope with winter weather. The Houston airport system, which includes George Bush Intercontinental Airport, William P. Hobby Airport and Ellington Airport, said it will close all flight operations starting at midnight Tuesday.
Snow totals are expected to range from two to six inches in southeast Texas and southwestern Louisiana.
At a news conference Monday, Louisiana officials implored residents to take precautions and stay off the roads. Subzero temperatures are expected to continue into Thursday in some areas, with 4 inches or more of snow likely to fall across large swathes of southern Louisiana.
“This creates a very dangerous situation not only for travel, but also for people, pipes, pets and plants,” said Gov. Jeff Landry, who urged people to check their heaters systems and warn against using gas stoves, electric stoves or ovens to heat your home. Residents are advised to prepare for power or water outages and road closures.
State climatologist Jay Grymes said southern Louisiana has not experienced a storm of this magnitude since the 1960s.
“Most of us have never experienced this combination of cold and snow in our lives,” Mr Grimes said. “Take these precautions and take this incident seriously. Get ready tonight because you won’t have another chance until Thursday.
The effects of severe cold and winter storms are expected to continue into the southeastern and eastern United States until at least midweek. Hazardous driving conditions and travel disruptions are likely to persist for several days in the south after the storm ends, Mr Chenard said: “Given the cold air is still in place, it may take a while to melt.”
The southern storm comes as the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions are coming off a weekend of snow that resulted in some of the heaviest accumulations of the season. The West Virginia towns of Thomas and Elkins each received 16 inches of rain. An accident in Maryland, just south of the Pennsylvania border, recorded 14.5 inches of rain. In New York, the largest total area is north of New York City, with approximately 8 inches at Fahnestock State Park, Highland Mills, and Hopewell Junction. Central Park recorded 1.6 inches.
The National Weather Service said less than an inch of snow fell in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, and the temperature at noon Monday was 28 degrees, making it one of the coldest Inauguration Days in decades.
Cold temperatures will become more severe in many areas due to dangerous wind chills, especially in the Rockies, Northern Plains and upper Midwest. Wind chills are expected to be as low as 30 to 55 degrees below freezing in these areas by Tuesday morning, levels that pose a serious risk of frostbite and hypothermia to anyone with exposed skin, the weather service warned. Even the farthest south-central Plains and Ohio Valley areas will experience sub-zero wind chills by the middle of the week.
About 30 men, including two with frostbite, took shelter from 15-degree weather at a homeless shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday, said Eric Burger, director of the Kansas City shelter.
Victor Butler was also present and said he had slight frostbite on his feet.
Mr Butler said wearing multiple layers of insulation wasn’t enough. “I knew I didn’t have enough clothes to survive the cold,” he said.
Alexandra E. Petry Contributed reporting.
