
A person crosses a street as heavy snow falls Sunday in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
A wide-reaching winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow and closed major highways in parts of the Midwest before continuing its Monday trek eastward. In parts of the Great Plains, snow totals exceeded anything seen in decades. At least three fatalities were reported in two traffic incidents in the Midwest.
The storm produced wintry precipitation across a distance of about 1,500 miles — from Kansas to New York — creating hazardous conditions for millions of people, and for some their biggest snowstorm in years. Over 12 inches fell in Kansas; Missouri experienced blizzard conditions; and in the Mid-Atlantic, roads were slick and dangerous, with snow reaching at least 5 to 9 inches in the D.C. region. Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power Monday afternoon from Missouri to Virginia.
Beginning early Monday, the worst of the storm reached the Mid-Atlantic, with heavy snow in D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. Up to a foot of total snow was possible in what could become the biggest snowstorm since at least January 2022, when around seven total inches fell, if not since January 2019, when just over 10 total inches of snow fell in the area. Over central and southern Virginia, freezing rain was falling Monday morning.
STORM UPDATES AND IMPACTS
The winter storm led to at least three fatalities as it swept from the Midwest toward the East. In Wichita, an SUV flipped over and rolled multiple times Sunday, ejecting and killing its two occupants. In Jackson County, Missouri, on Sunday, a dump truck slid and killed a 61-year-old pedestrian.
More than 200,000 customers were without power Monday afternoon in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.
A number of communities in the Midwest rivaled or set records for their greatest single-day snow totals. In Chapman, Kansas, just northeast of the state’s center, 18 inches was recorded Sunday. That’s the greatest single-day total on record, with data dating back to 1904. At Kansas City International Airport, the 11 inches that came down Sunday was the fourth-greatest single-day total. The airport was just 0.8 inches away from coming in second place.
Snow totals across the Great Plains have been exceptional, in many cases exceeding anything that has been seen in decades. Other snowfall totals included 16 inches in St. Joseph, Missouri; 12.7 inches west of St. Louis, in the town of Weldon Springs; and 10 inches in Mackeyville, West Virginia.
In his 25 years in the role, a Kansas state trooper — Trooper Ben Gardner — said this storm was in the top five events he has experienced.

Snow covers homes during a winter storm Monday in Cincinnati. Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press
Significant ice-covered roadways Saturday, followed by heavy snowfall Sunday. The ice made it difficult for drivers to accelerate up highway ramps. First responders got stuck. Some equipment broke.
On Sunday night, cellphone users received a statewide alert — a loud beep and notification that sounded like an Amber Alert, Gardner said — urging drivers to stay off the road unless it’s an emergency.
“What makes this special is it was an all-hands-on-deck, something we haven’t seen in two-day duration,” Gardner said.
On slick roads across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, some cars and trucks were stuck or sliding off highways while others trudged through thoroughfares painted with snow and ice.
Between Sunday and Monday, the two tow trucks at Mike’s AutoCare rescued about 40 to 50 cars in and around Richmond.
“We usually don’t get these big of snows here,” said Clint McAboy, who oversees towing at the full-service auto repair shop. “Definitely been a busy day.”
Most of the cars that he has had to winch out of ditches were not prepared for the snow, he said. But the biggest challenge during the storm was staying dry, he said. When he pulls a car out of a ditch, snow gets in his pants and dampens his socks.
“Then you’re sitting in a warm truck,” McAboy said, “ … when you get out in the cold again and you’re wet it just makes it even worse.”
Now, he keeps dry clothes and socks in his truck to change into after every few tows.
This storm, though, hasn’t been as bad as previous ones when he worked 36 hours straight, he said. People seemed to have stayed home, and there was ample warning of the storm. He also thought the Virginia Department of Transportation did a good job keeping the roads clear.
But he expects crashes and tows will increase overnight, as temperatures drop.
More than 1,900 flights tied to the United States have been canceled, with 6,500 flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flights around the world. The D.C.-area airports were hit hard, FlightAware data showed. As of midday Monday, two-thirds of the flights scheduled to depart Reagan National Airport had been canceled, while more than half that were supposed to land there were halted. Dulles International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport were faring slightly better, with at least 30% of departing flights and more than 20% of arriving flights canceled at each.
Conditions also upended travel plans for thousands of rail passengers, with no clear indication yet on when full service would be restored. Amtrak canceled service on more than 40 trains that move passengers along its busy Northeast Corridor route. Service was canceled on all or some portions of more than a dozen of the rail service’s high-speed Acela routes, which carry passengers between D.C. and Boston, while service on more than two dozen Northeast Regional trains was disrupted.
By noon Monday, the passenger rail service had canceled service on two Northeast Regional trains — Train 86 between Richmond and D.C., and Train 84 between Norfolk and Washington. It was not clear whether additional cancellations would be announced.
Service was also canceled on several trains operating between St. Louis and Chicago; St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri; and Kansas City and Chicago. Amtrak officials said affected passengers would typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times on another day. Officials said Amtrak would waive additional charges for customers seeking to change their reservations during this period.
Davis Schaefer, pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bemidji State University baseball team in Bemidji, Minnesota, flew into D.C. on Thursday for the American Baseball Coaches Association’s annual convention over the weekend. Schaefer, 31, was scheduled to fly back Sunday night, but he was initially delayed as American Airlines scrambled to get a flight attendant for the trip to Minneapolis, Schaefer said.
About 11:30 p.m., passengers were told that a replacement had been found, only to learn minutes later the flight had been canceled because of the weather.
The airline booked Schaefer and fellow coach AJ Gengler on a Monday night flight, offering them vouchers for lodging, transportation and food. At noon, Schaefer and Gengler were at their hotel in Arlington getting ready to head back to the airport, steeling themselves for hours of waiting, fretting and trying to stretch their $12 food vouchers.
They were skeptical a rescheduled flight would fare any better than their first.
“We have no idea,” Schaefer said. “I’m not expecting much.”
HOW LONG WILL THIS STORM LAST?
By Tuesday morning, the storm will be hundreds of miles off of the East Coast. By Wednesday, the system will usher cold Canadian air into Bermuda.
For much of the rest of the week, storm-affected areas in the Plains, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic will experience frigid temperatures and gusty winds, which will keep the snowpack deep in some places for numerous days.
Temperatures may dip below zero as far south as Virginia, with some of the lowest temperatures occurring in areas that have a fresh snowpack.
Deep, freshly fallen snow reflects sunlight and traps cold air near the surface, intensifying and prolonging frigid conditions.
Closer to the Great Lakes, lake-effect snow showers and flurries are forecast through Thursday. More than five feet of lake-effect snow has fallen since late last week.
ANOTHER STORM AHEAD?
Attention will then quickly turn to the next possible storm, which is forecast to develop over Texas on Wednesday night.
A large area of spin in the upper atmosphere will gather over the Southwest, becoming cut off from the normal west to east flow that carries weather systems across the country.
This disturbance is expected to spawn a broad area of wintry precipitation in northern and western Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Arkansas and Missouri on Thursday and Thursday night.
While the finer details will become clearer over the next few days, cities that may be impacted include Dallas-Fort Worth, Lubbock and Amarillo in Texas; Albuquerque; Oklahoma City and Tulsa; Wichita; Kansas City, Missouri; and Little Rock.
There is some chance that additional snow may fall in the D.C. region and the Mid-Atlantic during the upcoming weekend, but much uncertainty remains. If all the ingredients come together, there are some signs the system will continue to move eastward Friday and Saturday, possibly bringing more snow and ice to areas that have been affected by the current winter storm. The system could shift northeast over the Mid-South by Friday and perhaps the Appalachians, the Mid-Atlantic and toward coastal New England into the weekend.
There is a low chance that storm could intensify rapidly along the Eastern Seaboard on Saturday, and it will be key to monitor the forecast closely.
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