Snowstorms close schools and offices across a large swath of the U.S.
Closures and states of emergency are being announced across the Central Plains, Midwest and East Coast regions of the U.S., as a snowstorm is expected to move across several states in those areas in coming days.
The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Six to 12 inches of snow are expected from Ohio to D.C by Monday morning. More than 240,000 customers were without power as of early Monday morning across West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, according to Poweroutage.us.
Governors of several of the states affected by the snowstorm issued states of emergency, beginning early last week and continuing into this past weekend.
“A State of Preparedness enhances the state’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to potential hazards and threats before they escalate and provides an easy path for information sharing and coordination,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said: “This winter storm will likely cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions on our roads and could cause significant power outages — just 24 hours before it gets dangerously cold.”
Several county school systems across the affected states will be closed Monday, as well as in cities such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Louisville.
In Washington, D.C., Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will be closed Monday. Non-emergency federal employees in D.C. will work remotely Monday, as offices will be closed.
The winter storms also were affecting flight travel across the U.S. More than 400 flights traveling into or leaving the U.S. faced delays early Monday morning, according to tracking platform FlightAware. More than 1,300 additional flights faced cancellations.
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