A massive pileup on an icy Denver highway on Saturday left one dead and at least 30 injured, as meteorologists warned drivers from coast to coast that they should expect dangerous conditions over the weekend.
The monster storm trudging across the U.S. is expected to leave a treacherous trail from California, through the Midwest and into the East Coast just in time for Monday's commute. And as an added bonus, it's likely to catapult some states into the record books for the snowiest winters ever.
Flakes first fell in the Rockies, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Saturday, according to Weather.com.
More than 100 vehicles were caught in collisions on Denver's I-25, including 45 involved in a chain-reaction accident caused by "slick roads, fog, and human error," according to the Denver Police Department.
From the Rockies, the storm is set to strengthen as it moved through the Midwest and arrives in the Northeast Sunday, according to Weather.com. On Sunday, the storm will dump snow, ice, sleet and freezing rain, especially in the Midwest where temperatures are expected to be 30 to 50 degrees below average, according to the National Weather Service.
Sleet could cause power outages from Ohio through New Jersey, especially if weighed down trees are further challenged by winds that are forecast to reach speeds of 10 to 20 miles per hour, Weather.com reported.
Roads will be treacherous from Ohio through the Mid-Atlantic, Weather.com said.
In Washington, D.C., Monday’s Senate votes have already been postponed until Tuesday, as the capital is expected to be under a winter storm watch between 12 a.m. and 6 p.m. and could see up to 5 inches of snow and sleet overnight.
Possible school cancellations in the Midwest and Northeast on Monday will further exacerbate a struggle that officials in at least 10 states face as they have far exceeded their allotted snow days for the year.
Central Indiana would be under a winter storm warning from Saturday night into Monday morning, and is set to accumulate 5 to 8 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. As of Feb. 15, the state had already seen its snowiest winter in three decades, the Indiana Department of Transportation said.
The Indiana DOT reported that plow trucks have logged more than 7.4 million miles this winter, and laid 387,000 tons of salt.
But Indiana’s not the only state that is breaking records.
If Philadelphia accumulates more than 6 inches during the storm, this winter will become the second snowiest in recorded history — dating back to the 1800s, according to NBC Philadelphia. The city can expect 6 to 10 inches of snow by the time the workweek begins, Weather.com predicted.
New York is coming close to its snow-total tipping point, too. The city’s snowiest winter was during 1995-96 when 75 inches fell in Central Park. New Yorkers have trudged through a total of 57 inches this season and can expect another 4 to 6 inches by Monday’s commute, NBC New York reported.
Ads throughout the Big Apple beckon winter-weary northerners to Florida, where they can “Thaw Out Here.” People are listening.
Jetsetter.com found that the number of hotel bookings in warm-weather spots made by customers in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., jumped 7 percent in January compared with last year, The Associated Press reported.
While the central Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley and northern Great Lakes will escape the snow, those areas will have to deal with lows in the negative teens throughout the weekend. Near the Canadian border, wind chills are possible in the minus-40s.
Meanwhile, start marking your calendars: Spring begins March 20.
First published March 1 2014, 3:36 PM
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1cjAijr
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