Winter storms: Next wave of cold and snow will hit the southern United States

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) The plunging polar vortex brought freezing temperatures Tuesday to some of the southernmost points of the United States, threatening to dump snow on parts of Texas and Oklahoma in the coming days and contributing to to a power outage in Virginia's capital that left the water unsafe for consumption.

The Arctic blast that hit much of the United States east of the Rockies over the weekend caused hundreds of car crashes, thousands of flight cancellations and delays, and led communities to install warming shelters, including one at an ice rink and another in the Providence, Rhode Island City Council Chambers.

As the cold front moved south, it triggered a cold weather advisory for the Gulf Coast and pushed the low temperature in El Paso, along the Texas-Mexico border, to 31 degrees ( minus 0.5 Celsius), with an expected wind chill factor ranging from 0. to 15 degrees (minus 18 to minus 9 Celsius) early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Road crews in the Kansas City area, which received about 11 inches of snow in recent days, have struggled to keep pace with plowing streets and highways.

I don't know what superpowers some people think snow removal crews have, but two straight days of snow and ice won't disappear overnight, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, wrote Monday , on Facebook.

In frigid northern Virginia, Carol Grayson said Monday she wished she had a metal shovel instead of a plastic one while trying to clear a path for her beagle, Rudy, and her sheltie, Emma.

People engage in a snowball fight as American flags along the base of the Washington Monument fly at half-mast in memory of former President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100, in Washington , Monday, January 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People engage in a snowball fight as American flags along the base of the Washington Monument fly at half-mast in memory of former President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100, in Washington , Monday, January 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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The great-grandmother, who declined to give her age, said shoveling almost knee-deep frozen snow was like climbing Mount Everest. His Alexandria neighborhood was once populated by teenagers who offered to help him. But they all grew up and moved away.

We're not used to it here, and we're just not prepared for it, Grayson said.

The polar vortex of ultracold air generally orbits the North Pole, but it sometimes dips south toward the United States, Europe, and Asia. Some experts say such cold air outbreaks are occurring more frequently, paradoxically, because of global warming.

Southern Discomfort

A child catches snowflakes with his tongue during El Museo del Barrios' 47th annual Three Kings Day Parade, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A child catches snowflakes with his tongue during El Museo del Barrios' 47th annual Three Kings Day Parade, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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As points north and east cleared snow and ice Tuesday, communities in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas prepared for help of their own. A low pressure system is expected to form as early as Wednesday near southern Texas and could dump several inches of snow in the Dallas area and the lower Mississippi Valley, the weather service said.

In Texas, crews treated Dallas-area roads amid forecasts of 1 to 3 inches (about 3 to 8 centimeters) of snow Thursday, as well as sleet and rain, said National Meteorologist Sam Shamburger. Weather Service. He said up to 5 inches of snow was expected farther north, near the Oklahoma line.

Kevin Oden, Dallas' director of emergency management and crisis response, said Tuesday that our city is in the preparedness phase.

The storm is expected to create slippery roads Friday as 75,000 fans descend on AT&T Stadium in Arlington to watch Texas take on Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Arlington spokeswoman Susan Shrock said crews were prepared Friday to address any hazardous road conditions around the stadium.

They will have brine, sand and equipment on standby, she said.

Traffic makes its way on snow-covered US 31 in Carmel, Indiana, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Traffic makes its way on snow-covered US 31 in Carmel, Indiana, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Parts of southeast Georgia and northern Florida endured unusually frigid temperatures Tuesday night and were under freeze warnings through Wednesday.

In North Florida, with Valentine's Day just a month away, the biggest concern for growers fearing the cold is growing ferns used for flower arrangements.

Major damage to citrus trees, which typically occurs when temperatures drop to 28 degrees (minus 2 degrees Celsius) or lower for several hours, was less likely. Florida's commercial citrus plantations are found primarily in the south central portion of the peninsula.

The transport was difficult

An area stretching from the Central Plains through the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic region is likely to receive more snow and ice for a few days, which could cause the ground cover to melt and refreeze to form dangerous black ice on the roads, according to forecasters.

Snow covers homes during a winter storm Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Snow covers homes during a winter storm Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

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A Kentucky truck stop was crowded Monday with large trucks that had been forced off snow-covered Interstate 75 just outside Cincinnati. Michael Taylor, a long-haul driver from Los Angeles hauling a load of carpet to Georgia, said he saw numerous cars and trucks in ditches and dealt with icy windshield wipers before leaving the highway.

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

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 hit.

Virginia State Police responded to 650 crashes, some likely storm-related, between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening that left three people dead. Police said other weather-related fatal crashes occurred Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kansas saw two fatal crashes over the weekend.

More than 1,000 flights to or from the United States had been delayed as of Tuesday morning, according to tracking platform FlightAware. As of Monday, more than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more were delayed.

Tens of thousands of people are without electricity

Many were in the dark as temperatures plummeted. About 200,000 customers were without power Tuesday in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois and Missouri, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us.

In Virginia's capital Richmond, a weather-related power outage caused a temporary malfunction of the water system, officials said Monday. The city issued a boil water advisory to its more than 200,000 residents and promised to get the system back up and running as quickly as possible. Mayor Danny Avula said the advisory could be lifted as early as Wednesday.

The malfunction forced the Virginia Capitol and General Assembly buildings to close Tuesday, a day before the legislative session began. G. Paul Nardo, clerk of the House of Delegates, asked lawmakers and staff in an email to leave the buildings or go elsewhere if they were headed to the capital.

The water pressure became kaput, he wrote.

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Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press reporter Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Ky.; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Julie Walker in New York; Joshua A. Bickel in Cincinnati; Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Michael Schneider in Orlando; Michael Casey in Boston; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

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Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

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