Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana are bracing for the next round of bitter cold and snow

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The next round of bitter cold was expected to hit the southern United States on Tuesday after the first severe winter storm of the year inundated much of the country with ice, snow and wind.

The massive storm system caused disruption even in areas of the country that normally escape winter’s wrath, toppling trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and sending people in Dallas digging deep into their closets for hats and gloves dig.

According to the National Weather Service, the wind-chilled temperature Tuesday morning at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was 16 degrees. A low pressure area was expected to form near South Texas as early as Wednesday, bringing potential snowfall to parts of the state, including Dallas, as well as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

“We will continue to experience colder than normal temperatures over the next few days,” said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the weather service in College Park, Maryland. “Starting Thursday morning, we will see areas of snow and ice forming across northern Texas and southern Oklahoma.”

Snow and ice are expected to move further south into the lower Mississippi Valley, some of which will be “pretty disruptive,” he said.

Persistent snow and ice in the central Plains across the Ohio Valley into the Atlantic will likely continue for a few more days, Mullinax said. This may result in persistent refreezing and black ice, which may lead to dangerous travel conditions in some areas over the next few days.

The polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend held icy grip on much of the country east of the Rocky Mountains on Monday, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations. Some experts say such cold air outbreaks are paradoxically becoming more common as the world warms.

Ice and snow covered major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was deployed to help stranded motorists. The weather service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzards brought wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. The warnings extended into New Jersey into early Tuesday.

A Kentucky rest stop just outside Cincinnati was crowded Monday with large trucks moving down an icy and snow-covered Interstate 75. Michael Taylor, a long-haul driver from Los Angeles who was hauling a load of carpets to Georgia, said he saw numerous cars and trucks stuck in ditches and struggling with iced-up windshield wipers before pulling off the highway.

“It was too dangerous. I didn’t want to kill myself or anyone else,” he said.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually revolves around the North Pole, but sometimes it plunges south into the United States, Europe and Asia. Studies show that a rapidly warming Arctic is partly responsible for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex, which is expanding its influence.

Temperatures are falling across the country

The eastern two-thirds of the U.S. struggled with bitter cold and wind chill on Monday, with temperatures well below normal in some areas.

A cold weather warning will go into effect along the Gulf Coast early Tuesday. In the Texas capital Austin and surrounding cities, wind temperatures could drop to as low as 15 degrees.

Several cold days were expected in the northeast.

Transportation was difficult

Hundreds of car crashes have been reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was struck.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 430 crashes on Sunday and Monday, including one that resulted in a fatality. According to police, additional weather-related fatal accidents occurred on Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and on Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. There were two fatal accidents in Kansas over the weekend.

As of Monday evening, more than 2,300 flights had been canceled and at least 9,100 more delayed across the country, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported that about 58% of arrivals and 70% of departures were canceled. The airport said early Tuesday that it had reopened all runways after closing them Monday evening to allow airport crews to focus on snow removal and preventing the airfield from freezing again.

A record 8 inches of snow fell at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sunday, causing dozens of flight cancellations that continued into Monday. About 4 inches (10 centimeters) fell Monday in the Cincinnati area, where car and truck accidents blocked at least two major roads into the city center.

More snow and ice is expected

In Indiana, sections of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41 were covered in snow, prompting authorities to ask people to stay home.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snowplows go through and within half an hour the roads are completely covered again,” said the state police commander. Todd Ringle said.

An additional 6 to 12 inches of snow was forecast for the Mid-Atlantic region on Monday. Dangerously cold temperatures were expected to follow, with overnight low temperatures falling into the single digits by midweek across the Central Plains and the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

North Texas was expected to see 2 to 5 inches of snow starting Thursday, according to the weather service. Snow could also fall in Oklahoma and Arkansas, with more than 4 inches of snow possible in some parts.

Classes have been canceled in several states

School closures have been widespread, with districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas canceling or delaying the start of classes on Monday. Among them was Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky, which canceled classes and other school activities for its nearly 100,000 students.

Classes were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency on Sunday and announced that the state’s government offices would also remain closed on Monday. Government offices were also closed Monday in Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency.

Tens of thousands are without electricity

Many were left in the dark as temperatures dropped. More than 218,000 customers were without power in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina as of Monday evening, according to utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

In Virginia’s capital, a power outage caused a temporary disruption in the water system, officials said Monday afternoon. Richmond officials urged residents of the city of more than 200,000 not to drink tap water or wash dishes without first boiling the water. The city also urged people to conserve water, for example by taking shorter showers.

City officials said they were working nonstop to get the system back online.

By PATRICK WHITTLE and BRIAN WITTE with The Associated Press

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press journalists Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Lea Skene in Baltimore; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Julie Walker in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

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