Winter weather Jan. 6, 2025: Heavy snow and ice create deadly roadways across the U.S.
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A huge swath of the U.S. was blasted with ice, snow and wind on Monday as the polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in its frigid grip, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures, and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations.
What we’re following today:
- Latest forecasts: The eastern two-thirds of the U.S. is experiencing dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) below normal.
- School closings: Districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas canceling or delaying the start of classes Monday. Among them was Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools, which canceled classes and other school activities for its nearly 100,000 students.
- Dangerous road conditions: As of mid-morning Monday, there were over 250 crashes and 270 reports of vehicles sliding off roadways in Indiana alone. Similar numbers were reported in Virginia.
- Flight delays: The storm has caused thousands of flights to be canceled or delayed, especially around the nation’s capital.
Roads are still treacherous in Kansas, governor says
The Kansas Highway Patrol has reported nearly 200 crashes from Saturday morning through Monday morning, two of them deadly.
On Saturday, a tractor-trailer jackknifed in the ice in the western part of the state, killing a pickup truck’s driver. And two others died Sunday when an SUV rolled down an embankment in Wichita.
Gov. Laura Kelly closed state offices in the Topeka area through Tuesday, and many school districts followed suit.
“Although crews are making progress, the roads remain hazardous,” Kelly said in a news release.