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A deadly winter storm is hammering Washington, DC and the Mid-Atlantic on Monday after causing hundreds of accidents and flight cancellations and cutting off power to hundreds of thousands across the central United States over the weekend.

Here’s what happens:

• Heavy snowfall in DC: By sunrise, five inches of snow had fallen in the area – the snowiest day in two years – and there will be more snow as the day progresses. Federal government offices in Washington will be closed Monday due to weather, but the closure will not affect Congress, where certification of the results of the 2024 presidential election will take place. Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the top priority was to fully open the city as quickly as possible and urged people to give snowplow crews room to work. “If you don’t need to be out tonight and tomorrow, stay home. Please stay off our streets,” she said Sunday. D.C. is one of hundreds of locations across more than 1,000 miles across the U.S. that received several inches of snow due to the storm.

• Storm becomes deadly: At least three people were killed in traffic accidents as a result of the storm. Two people died Sunday in Wichita, Kansas, when their SUV slid and went down an embankment, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. According to the state highway patrol, a dump truck spun out of control in Independence, Missouri, Sunday evening and struck a 61-year-old pedestrian, who died at the scene.

• Driver stranded: Over the weekend, major highways were closed in several states due to snow and ice, including Missouri, where at least 600 drivers were stranded in extreme conditions. Hundreds of car accidents occurred in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, according to the Associated Press. The National Guard was deployed on major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where hundreds of motorists were stranded, according to the AP. In northwest Missouri, the State Highway Patrol is “working with towing companies to remove countless stranded vehicles on I-29,” the Missouri Department of Transportation said. The highway reopened Monday morning, but officials urged motorists to stay away.

• Hundreds of thousands without electricity: More than 310,000 people from Missouri to Virginia are without power as of Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. Thick ice, snow and gusty winds destroyed trees and power lines over the weekend. The utility that serves Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, does not yet have an estimate for when its more than 20,000 outages will be restored. “Here in Kentucky, this is definitely a multi-day event,” LG&E and KU Energy spokesman Daniel Lowry told CNN on Monday. Conditions remain dangerous for crews attempting to restore power.

• Dangerous cold is coming: A new explosion in the Arctic with dangerously low temperatures will hit the same areas that were just hit by the storm. It will hold on to snow and ice through Tuesday, creating life-threatening conditions for those without power and access to heat. “If power is not restored by tonight, you need to think about the plans you may need to make to stay safe,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear urged during a news conference Monday. Tens of thousands remain without power in the state. Crews are racing against the clock to restore the building and clear the streets before the cold weather arrives. “We have about 24 hours until it gets so cold that the salt can no longer work. “That’s why we need as much time and as many ways to work as possible throughout today,” Beshear added.

• Air traffic disrupted: More than 1,300 flights to and from the United States were canceled as of 7 a.m. Monday, according to flight data tracker FlightAware. This comes after more than 1,800 flights met the same fate on Sunday.

• Extensive school closures: All public schools in Washington, D.C. will be closed Monday due to weather conditions. Alexandria City Public Schools and Arlington Public Schools in Virginia are also closed. Cincinnati Public Schools, one of Ohio’s largest school districts, is also closed Monday due to inclement weather, while some schools in Louisville, Kentucky and Springfield, Missouri, also remain closed due to dangerous road conditions caused by freezing rain and sleet. Major universities — including Ohio State and the University of Pennsylvania — announced Monday they were canceling in-person classes.

The major winter storm sweeping through the East on Monday will dump snow, ice and rain across the region throughout the day before pushing away from the coast in the evening.

The heaviest snowfall will occur in the morning, although some snowfall in parts of the Mid-Atlantic – including Washington, D.C. – will continue into the evening hours before eventually ending.

Brutally cold air and strong winds will sweep across the East on Monday and Tuesday night in the wake of the storm. Temperatures dropped across the central U.S. on Monday as the coldest air of the season arrived, locking in piles of snow and plenty of treacherous ice that fell over the weekend.

The storm has already proven violent across the central United States. More than 20 inches of snow fell in Chapman, Kansas, the storm’s highest total so far. Blizzard conditions hit Topeka, Kansas, on Sunday as strong winds kicked up snow and caused power outages.

The 14.1 inches of snow recorded in Topeka on Sunday is the third largest snowfall calendar day ever, while 11 inches of snow in Kansas City, Missouri, marks the snowiest day on record at the city’s official reporting station.

CNN’s Ethan Cohen, Sarah Dewberry and Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.