A brutal Arctic blast is bringing record-low temperatures and life-threatening wind chills across a large swath of the United States as snow and ice spread from the South to New England and a new storm targets the Northwest with dangerous ice.
Enough snow fell in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC, to end nearly 2-year-long waits for an inch of snow there.
The cities all recorded at least an inch of snow in 24 hours, something that hadn’t been done in more than 700 days in all the locations. The streaks were record-long in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and the DC area’s Dulles International Airport.
Nearly 80% of the US will see below-freezing temperatures over the next week as another shot of cold air spreads across the country by late week.
Numerous daily cold records have already been set – including across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to stay below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours.
Deaths have been reported across Arkansas, Oregon, Mississippi and Tennessee since January 12 as back-to-back winter storms have pummeled the US with dangerous wind, ice and snow. One person was killed and another was injured in Arkansas after their pickup truck careened off a snowy White County highway and hit a tree, according to state police.
The transportation toll from a hyperactive stretch of winter weather goes beyond roads. More than 10,000 flights have been cancelled since Friday, FlightAware data shows. Most cancellations Tuesday were in the East because of the active storm, but the flight issues stretch as far west as Denver.
School districts in more than half a dozen states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia announced closures amid the frigid temperatures. Federal government offices closed in Washington, DC, for the first time since Jan. 7, 2022 because of the weather.
