A major winter storm plowed across the country on Monday, delivering heavy snow, ice, and temperatures so low they broke records in some places.

More than 150 million Americans in 26 states, stretching 2,000 miles from Texas to Maine, were in the path of the historic storm as power outages — particularly in Texas where 2 million were without power — left people shivering in the dark.

Slick, icy roads in some states led to pileups, endangering more lives in a winter storm system that’s claimed as many as 12 lives across the country in recent days.

The storm was expected to travel up the Northeast through Tuesday, bringing heavy snow, ice, and freezing temperatures, the National Weather Service said. Six inches to a foot of snow was forecast to stretch from the mid-Mississippi to the Ohio valleys, across the lower Great Lakes, and into northern New England, according to the service.

It also warned about more power outages and significant travel disruptions across much of the southern Plains, as well as “bitterly cold air” that can result in “dangerous or life-threatening wind chills.”

As of Monday afternoon, there were reports of ice pellets falling in Nashville, a possible “snow-nado” in Texas, and emergency responders mobilizing in multiple states.

Snow fell in east Texas, Arkansas, parts of Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio on Monday morning, with wind chills reaching minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit in Dallas and minus 26 in Kansas City.

Heavy snow was accumulating in Oklahoma City, where more than 6 inches has already fallen.

As the plains continue to grapple with the Arctic chill, the National Weather Prediction Center said numerous new record lows were established Monday, including minus 6 in Oklahoma City and 5 degrees in Dallas.

At least parts of all 254 counties in Texas were under either a winter storm watch or a winter storm warning over the weekend. As of 9:40 a.m. ET, 2.6 million people in Texas were experiencing power blackouts.

The weather was affecting operations at airports across the area, with more than 760 flights canceled at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport amid a holiday weekend. On Monday, the airport said single-digit temperatures continued to affect its operations.

The first winter storm watch in a decade was issued for Brownsville, Texas. At 3,360 days, they had the longest streak of any National Weather Service office without one.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the flow of electric power in the state, said it was experiencing record-breaking electric demand due to the extreme cold temperatures that have gripped the state.

Here’s the #Winter #Storm Severity Index for #today, February 15. Major to extreme impacts are possible from southeast Texas to northern portions of Ohio, as a massive winter storm lifts from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley.

Houston was issued its first wind chill warning on record over the weekend.

As temperatures dropped Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turner warned that authorities were dealing with systemwide power outages across the state and that power could be out a lot longer than expected.

“For those without power, I know it is cold,” Turner tweeted. “The mayor is in the same position but we will get through this together.”

Houston police Chief Art Acevedo asked residents to keep use to a minimum to reduce the load on the electric grid, adding that several of Houston Police facilities were running on emergency generators.

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In a statement Sunday night, President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Texas and ordered federal assistance to aid state and local response efforts.

The extreme cold dips far into Texas with more than 60 daily record-low temperatures Monday and again Tuesday in the central U.S., NBC meteorologist Janessa Webb said.

“Records could be smashed by a couple of degrees, which is impressive for lows,” she added. “There will be slow improvement in the cold Wednesday through Friday. The cold is really concentrated in the middle of the country, with the coasts being no more than 5-10 degrees below average.”

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(CNN)An intense and ferocious winter storm — a “bomb cyclone” — is expected to bring hurricane-force wind gusts, blizzard conditions and a flood threat across a swath of the US heartland Wednesday.

Blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect for portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota. Heavy snow is expected in portions of the Rockies and northern Plains, including Denver into Thursday.

Travel will be dangerous, if not impossible, at times, across the front range where the blizzard warning has been issued. Severe storms capable of producing damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes is forecast from the southern Plains and into the Mississippi River Valley. More than 45 people million are under a high wind threat; more than 10 million are under winter storm threats; and more than 15 million are under a flood threat.

The National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado, issued a blunt message Tuesday: “Please cancel any travel plans Wednesday afternoon and evening especially east of I-25, and stay tuned for further updates!”

It warned of icy roads, whiteout conditions and strong winds.

“The heavy snow and visibility near zero will create extremely dangerous travel conditions, and power outages are also possible,” according to the National Weather Service.

Travel and schools affected

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled Wednesday, according to FlightAware. The majority of those cancellations are at Denver International Airport (DIA), where a blizzard warning is in effect. Southwest, Frontier and United have canceled flights and more cancellations and delays are possible, DIA said.

DEN team members preparing for tomorrow’s snow storm

Denver Int’l Airport@DENAirport

The calm before the storm. DEN team members are preparing for tomorrow’s snow storm. We are anticipating some possible delays and cancellations, be sure to check your flight status with your airline. #cowx #BombCyclone

Multiple Colorado school districts, including the Denver Public Schools are closed Wednesday “due to severe weather and road conditions,” the district announced Tuesday.

All school-related events and activities that were scheduled for Wednesday are also canceled. Denver is under a blizzard warning, and snow accumulations of five to eight inches are expected.

Thunderstorms across portions of the southern Plains will make way on Wednesday for sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph, akin to the strength of a low-end tropical storm. NWS has issued high wind watches for more than 8 million people.

Gusts up to 100 mph

Wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph are expected Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning across Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, CNN meteorologist Monica Garrett said. Some areas could see gusts as strong as 100 mph, which is equivalent to the wind speed of a Category 2 hurricane.

The storm is forecast to rapidly intensify overnight Wednesday east of the Colorado Rockies and trek slowly northeast through Thursday, delivering a variety of extreme weather from New Mexico to the Midwest. Snow is expected to taper off by midday Thursday, but strong winds may persist through the evening.

In addition, flood watches have been issued across the Midwest and Great Plains amid concerns that heavy rains will melt snowpack and trigger significant flooding. Flash flooding is possible if ice jams clog rivers and streams, the weather service noted.

CNN’s Haley Brink and Joe Sutton contributed to this

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Source: https://us.cnn.com/2019/03/13/us/winter-storm-blizzard-wednesday-wxc/index.html

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The post 70 million are in the path of ‘bomb cyclone’ set to strike the central US, bringing snow, hail and rain first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.