A fierce storm barreling across the country toward the Mid-Atlantic pounded a vast area with a wintry mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain that the Weather Prediction Center warned could bring “significant disruptions” to daily life and travel on Sunday and Monday.
The storm glazed roads in ice across Kansas on Saturday. The effects of the storm are expected to stretch more than 1,500 miles across a dozen states, from eastern Colorado to Maryland and Delaware.
Some 50 million people will be under winter weather advisories, watches and warnings over the course of the storm.
Power outages, downed trees and travel disruptions at airports and on roads are likely.
In the most extreme situations, whiteouts fueled by blizzards or blizzard conditions could make roads impassable and strand drivers, the National Weather Service said.
Several states in the path of the weather system — including Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia — have declared states of emergency, and Maryland declared a state of preparedness. The declarations are intended to improve the states’ responses to the storm through various means.
Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana planned to activate the National Guard to help with any highway rescues, said Jane Jankowski, his deputy chief of staff.