• Emergency declared in several states; hundreds of schools closed
• Over 250,000 customers without power
• Airlines cancel over 1,300 flights

WASHINGTON: The first major winter storm of the new year swept into the US Middle Atlantic states on Monday, closing down federal offices and public schools in Washington D.C. after dumping more than a foot of snow in the Ohio Valley and Central Plains.

The nation’s capital can expect accumulations of six to nine inches before the system pushes out to sea on Monday evening, the US National Weather Service said. Governors in several states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Arkan­sas, West Virginia and Virginia, have already declared states of emergency.

In the wake of the storm, frigid Arctic air was filling the void, bringing freezing rain and icy conditions to a swath of the country stretching from Illinois through Maryland and Virginia. Treacherous driving conditions are expected in many areas.

The Central Plains, where the storm dumped heavy snow over the weekend, were already in a deep freeze. Parts of Kansas experienced bitter cold wind chills, with values from five to almost 25 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (minus 15 to 32 degrees Celsius) overnight. The cold air will persist, with daytime highs only in the mid-teens to lower 20s.

In Washington, the storm will not keep the US Congress from meeting on Monday to formally certify Republican Donald Tru­mp’s election as president, House Speaker Mike Joh­nson said on Sunday. But federal offices in the nation’s capital will be closed, the Office of Personnel Management said.

Hundreds of schools announced in advance that they would not open on Monday due to the storm, including public schools in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Washington and Philadelphia.

Over 250,000 homes and businesses in central and the southern US were without power on Monday, data from PowerOutage.us sho­wed. The storm is expected to move offshore late on Monday, but it will be replaced by Arctic air, lowering daytime temperatures significantly, the National Weather Service said.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Sunday announced a weather watch from Jan 6-10, citing anticipated cold weather across its region, which is expected to increase electrical demand and could reduce reserves. However, grid operations are forecast to remain normal during the ERCOT weather watch. CenterPoint Energy Indiana reported the highest number of affected customers, with 61,417 clients without power, followed by Appalachian Power Company in West Virginia, with 31,242 clients without power.

Flights cancelled

Airlines in the United States cancelled more than 1,300 flights on Monday.

A total of 1,306 flights were cancelled and 414 flights were delayed, as of 5:13am ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Southwest Airlines cancelled 264 flights, the most among carriers, followed by American Airlines at 176.

Carriers, including Southwest, American, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, also issued travel advisories warning about an impact due to the storm.

The Federal Aviation Administration had warned on Friday that gusty winds, snowfall and some freezing could impact travel in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2025