Updated January 6, 2025 at 12:28 p.m. ET

At least four people died and dozens were injured as a severe winter storm moved across several states from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. Officials warned those in his way to stay off the streets. Forecasters are predicting up to 30 centimeters of snow in some areas.

Since Saturday, there have been hundreds of calls for help on highways and thousands of stranded cars from Kansas to Virginia, including a pileup in Illinois.

In Kansas, where blizzard warnings were issued statewide over the weekend, at least three people have died in car accidents, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

At least one person has died and more than 30 people have been injured in Missouri, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

“It’s still snowing out of the state, but don’t expect conditions to improve quickly – if you saw snow and ice falling yesterday, avoid traveling today as well,” the Missouri Department of Transportation said in a social media post. Post Monday. “Our teams are still working hard, but the cleanup will take a while in these conditions.”

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also advised people exposed to winter storms to “listen to local officials and stay off the roads if there is heavy snow or ice in your area.”

Winter storm warning in effect

Closures and states of emergency have been announced in the Central Plains, Midwest and East Coast regions of the U.S. as the snowstorm moves across the area.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC

Up to 12 inches of snow is expected to fall from Ohio to DC by Monday night. More than 300,000 customers were without power in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri as of noon ET Monday, according to Poweroutage.us.

The governors of several states affected by the snowstorm — including Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky — declared states of emergency beginning last week and continuing through this past weekend.

Several school systems in the affected states, as well as in cities such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Louisville, are closed Monday.

Large parts of DC closed, electoral vote certification continues

In Washington, DC, the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are closed Monday. Non-emergency federal employees will work remotely in Washington on Monday as offices remain closed.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith says the city prepared for the storm ahead of a series of high-security events – Congress’ certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory on Monday and funeral gatherings for former President Jimmy Carter.

“We have been following the news and watching the polar vortex move in this direction. So we planned appropriately,” Smith said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the snow would not delay the certification of electoral votes.

“The Electoral Count Act requires this on January 6th at 1 p.m. Whether we’re in a blizzard or not, we’re going to make sure that happens in this chamber,” Johnson told Fox News, adding that he hopes there will be full attendance.

According to Mayor Muriel Bowser, city resources will also be used to clear snow for members of Congress ahead of the election certification.

Travel disruptions are increasing

The winter storms also affect air traffic in the USA. As of midday ET Monday, more than 3,500 flights flying to or from the United States were experiencing delays, according to tracking platform FlightAware. More than 2,00 additional flights were canceled.

Snow will also cause delays at major airports, including New York, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, according to the FAA.

And more than 50 Amtrak trains run from the Midwest to the Northeast also canceled on Monday. Two trains running between parts of Virginia and Washington, D.C. have already been canceled for Tuesday.

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