Winter storm brings snow and ice, cancels over 400 flights
Hundreds of flights were canceled and millions of Americans faced a messy commute Monday as a winter storm began bringing snow and ice across the East and Midwest.
Much of the region was still shivering after a bitter blast of arctic air brought record-smashing temperatures to several cities over the weekend.
The freeze was joined by snow Sunday, with up to 5 inches falling across an area from Minnesota, through Missouri and Ohio and into North Carolina, according to The Weather Channel.
This was forecast to shift northeastward Monday. Meteorologists predicted 3 and 6 inches of snow from North Carolina to the Maine-Canada border. Snow was also forecast in Michigan.
By 5 a.m. ET, a blanket of winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect from Kentucky to New England.
See the severe winter weather that has affected the country so far this month:
Accumulations would likely be enough to make a mess of roads — such as sections of the I-95 corridor — but not so heavy as to bring widespread power outages.
"The main concern is going to be that lots of people will face a messy commute," Kevin Roth, lead meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said.
More than 430 flights have been canceled across the nation. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and LaGuardia Airport were the worst affected, suffering between 70 and 100 cancellations apiece, according to Flight Aware.
The snow looked likely to be short-lived in the East, however, with much of it turning to rain overnight.
Cold weather records across the Northeast were shattered on Valentine's Day after the polar vortex shot a mass of Canadian arctic air south.
Valentine's Day saw temperature records tumble across the region. In Boston, thermometers dipped to minus 9 degrees — the coldest day since Jan. 15, 1957 — while in New York City, Central Park registered minus 1, the lowest reading in 22 years.
Monday looked likely to be warmer — but only just — with lows between 10 to 20 degrees below average and subzero temperatures already recorded across New England in the early hours of the morning.
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