A major winter storm is expected in the Eastern United States and is expected to hit Maryland, Delaware and Virginia in particular. Forecasters fear the heaviest snowfall in 10 years.
A dangerous winter storm hit the United States this Sunday, January 5, where millions of people in the eastern half of the country are threatened by blizzards and where certain localities will record the heaviest snowfall in the last ten years. forecast by meteorologists.
More than 60 million people are in the path of the storm, which is expected to sweep the eastern half of the United States with arctic air through Monday and cause severe travel disruptions.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned of the risk of ice, snow and strong winds from western Kansas to the coastal states of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, over a strip of territory 2,400 kilometers wide.
“Widespread heavy snowfall”
“A disruptive winter storm will affect the Central Plains through the Mid-Atlantic through Monday, with widespread heavy snow and ice accumulations,” the NWS said in its latest bulletin.
The agency warned that areas from northeastern Kansas to north-central Missouri would experience “the heaviest snowfall in a decade.”
Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe due to human-caused climate change.
Kansas airport temporarily closed
The first major storm of 2025 has already caused the temporary closure of Kansas City International Airport on Saturday, January 4, “due to rapid accumulation of ice.”
Flights then resumed after the runways were cleared, said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Some locations in the eastern states of New York and Pennsylvania will face heavy snow from the Great Lakes, which could total 61 centimeters, according to the NWS.
A blizzard is expected across the Central Plains early Sunday, making travel “extremely dangerous, with impassable roads and a high risk for motorists of becoming stranded,” the NWS predicts.
Up to 25 cm of snow expected
The United States capital, Washington, could be covered in a snowpack of 12 centimeters or more, with up to 25 cm in surrounding areas.
Temperatures are expected to plunge in some places below 18 degrees Celsius, with strong gusts of wind making the situation worse.
Severe thunderstorms are expected in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Freezing rain and sleet are forecast from Kansas, and east to Kentucky and Virginia, with potential for downed trees and power lines. The governors of Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia declared states of emergency in their states.
