Winter Snow Storm Kills 7 in Midwest, Hits D.C.

Abandoned cars litter the streets in St. Louis on Saturday. A winter storm that pounded St
Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Robert Kraychik

Seven people have died in highway accidents on Saturday related to a winter storm across the Midwest, according to a Reuters report.

Winter Storm Gia hit the East Coast Saturday evening.

A man uses a kite to snowboard near the Washington Monument on the National Mall during a winter storm January 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. - Washington area residents woke up to a winter wonderland, and may need to shovel aside several inches of snow that fell overnight as a winter storm warning remains in effect until 6 p.m. Sunday and more snow is expected to fall. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

A man uses a kite to snowboard near the Washington Monument on the National Mall during a winter storm January 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. – Washington area residents woke up to a winter wonderland, and may need to shovel aside several inches of snow that fell overnight as a winter storm warning remains in effect until 6 p.m. Sunday and more snow is expected to fall. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: A man pulls his son up the hill as people sled on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, on January 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. The DC area was hit with 4-7 inches of snow accumulation with the potential of another 2-4 inches. President Donald Trump is holding off from a threatened national emergency declaration to fund a border wall amidst the longest partial government shutdown in the nation's history. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 13: A man pulls his son up the hill as people sled on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, on January 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. The DC area was hit with 4-7 inches of snow accumulation with the potential of another 2-4 inches. President Donald Trump is holding off from a threatened national emergency declaration to fund a border wall amidst the longest partial government shutdown in the nation’s history. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

The Weather Network reported at least three deaths via Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP). MSHP advised motorists to avoid driving:

The snowstorm hit the Rockies and Plains regions on Friday, moving East, and is projected to cover a 1,800-mile corridor — stretching from Colorado to the mid-Atlantic – across the weekend. It began as a rainstorm in Mexico, turning to snow as it moved north. Over 35 million people across ten states and Washington, DC, were under a storm warning as of Saturday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning of hazardous weather conditions with a winter storm warning projected to last until 12:00 a.m. on Monday. Four to eight inches of snow is expected to accumulate in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas, with up to one foot in some places.

CNN reported:

Baltimore is also in the path of these heavier bands of snowfall, with 4 to 6 inches of snow predicted for Sunday. Philadelphia is predicted to get 1 to 2 inches of snow, and there is a possibility of light accumulation in New York along the storm’s northern edge.

Sections of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska received over a foot of snowfall, with Montgomery City, MO, seeing the heaviest snowfall of 20 inches.

Various Twitterati used #snurlough and #snowpocalypse2019 hashtag linkages to share pictures of the event.

NBC’s Washington affiliate reported:

Virginia State Police said they responded to more than 230 traffic crashes and helped more than 100 disabled vehicles in Virginia from midnight to noon Sunday. More than 30 of those crashes and half of those disabled vehicles were in the Fairfax district, VSP said.

Local authorities in Washington, DC, are promoting a Snow Hero Challenge, inviting city residents who help neighbors in need.

 

Nearly 250 flights were canceled nationwide and another 400 delayed as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.com.

The NWS is advising those in Washington, DC, Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Eastern West Virginia to stay indoors. If travel is a must, it advises the keeping of an extra flashlight, as well as food and water in one’s vehicle in case of an emergency.

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