A huge swath of the U.S. was blasted with ice, snow, and wind on Monday as the polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in its frigid grip, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures, and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations.
In Kentucky’s biggest city, Louisville, Hugh Ross used his shovel to break hard sheets of ice as he cleared a driveway. “You’ve got to break it up first,” Ross explained. “If you don’t do that, you’re wasting your time. I did a couple of layers yesterday, so I had to make sure I wasn’t in too bad of shape today.”
Ice and snow blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska, and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. More than 300,000 customers were without power early Monday across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 mph. The warnings extended to New Jersey into early Tuesday. At the storied Calumet Farm in central Kentucky, the thoroughbreds were led to their stalls Sunday afternoon before freezing rain turned their pastures into a slick glaze of snow and ice.
Temperatures plunged, with the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. dealing with bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees below normal. The cold air was expected to grip the Eastern Seaboard as far south as Georgia, with temperatures dropping into the low single digits in some coastal areas. Major southern cities including New Orleans and Dallas were bracing for uncharacteristically cold weather.
Schools in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas began announcing cancellations and delays on Sunday afternoon, with Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools canceling classes, extracurricular activities, and athletics for nearly 100,000 students. Classes were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and announced that state government offices would be closed on Monday.
Car wrecks proliferated, with at least 600 motorists stranded in Missouri over the weekend and hundreds of car accidents reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, and Kentucky. A state trooper in Kentucky was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.
Snow and ice continued to fall across the country, with more expected in the forecast. In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64, Interstate 69, and U.S. Route 41, leading authorities to plead with motorists to stay off the roads. The Federal government was also preparing to assist affected states, with President Joe Biden closely monitoring the severe weather. Air and rail travel were severely disrupted, with over 1,400 flights canceled and hundreds delayed on Monday morning.