BY MIRABEL ODETA
Successive punches of snow and wind were set to hit the eastern half of the United States Monday, as severe weather swept across much of the nation and made roads impassable in the Upper Midwest.
Forecasters warned that mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., faced the greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes. The cold front was expected to move off the East Coast by Tuesday, bringing sharply colder temperatures in its wake.
The late winter blast comes as Hawaii continued to deal with a separate storm system that caused severe flooding over the weekend.
A line of severe storms with damaging winds crossed much of the Eastern U.S., moving through the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio valleys after igniting Sunday. The storm threat was expected to push into the Appalachians before reaching the East Coast, where forecasters predicted “severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes.”
A stretch from South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to see the strongest winds Monday afternoon, potentially affecting Raleigh, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and the nation’s capital. Schools in Raleigh and Chapel Hill were closed Monday, and Gov. Josh Stein urged residents to enable emergency alerts on their phones ahead of expected wind gusts of 74 mph (119 kph).
Beyond the threat to lives and property, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys said major airports could see significant impacts from wind gusts, blizzards, or storms.
In the Upper Midwest, an area from central Wisconsin to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was expected to see over 2 feet (60 centimeters) of snow, with higher isolated totals possible. Lower accumulations in cities like Chicago and Milwaukee were still expected to create travel difficulties.
Jim Allen, 45, from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, said his family stocked up on necessities and prepared to clear snow several times Sunday with a shovel and snowblower. “We’re basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to,” he said.
More than 600 flights were canceled at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, with dozens more through Detroit and over 850 cancellations reported at O’Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago. Over 210,000 utility customers in six Great Lakes states were without power Sunday, some outages originating from Friday’s gusts of 85 mph (137 kph). Widespread outages were also reported in parts of Pennsylvania and Arkansas.
In Nebraska, about 30 National Guard members were deployed to combat multiple wildfires across range and grassland areas, with one fire-related fatality reported.
Meanwhile, rain continued falling in Hawaii, flooding farmland and homes, closing roads, and prompting shelters to open. Some areas of Maui received more than 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. Evacuation notices were later downgraded as crews pumped water from retention basins to keep levels safe.
Resident and real estate broker Jesse Wald, who captured video of a coastal road collapse Saturday, said other parts of the road were flooded by mud and sediment. “In the 20 years I’ve been here I’ve never seen this much rain,” he said.
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