States declare emergencies as winter storm sweeps US, bringing tornado threat

Around 60 million people are under winter weather warnings as a storm brings snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to over a dozen U.S. states.

The storm is moving toward the mid-Atlantic, with residents of Washington D.C. preparing for heavy snow and extreme cold on Monday.

Hundreds of schools had already announced closures, and officials urged people to avoid traveling, as some areas could receive up to 30 cm of snow.

In Missouri, state police were patrolling a more than 50-mile stretch of Interstate 29, looking for stranded motorists. By late Sunday afternoon, they had responded to nearly 600 stranded drivers and 285 crashes, according to the agency’s update on X.

Much of Kansas’ main highway, Interstate 70, was shut down throughout Sunday due to heavy snow and ice.

In northern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, freezing rain and sleet will produce “hazardous ice accumulations,” officials said.

Meanwhile, the storm’s trailing edge was generating severe thunderstorms capable of spawning tornadoes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The storm also led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including over 275 in both Kansas City and St. Louis, according to the aviation tracking site FlightAware.

Governors in several states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Virginia, declared states of emergency.

While the storm will move offshore by Monday night, bone-chilling Arctic air is expected to follow in its wake.