Winter storm: flights, train delays and loss of power: NPR

Nicholas Nicolet and his son Rocco cross-country ski Sunday in Montpellier, Vermont. A major winter storm hit the Midwest and New England this weekend.

Lisa Rathke / AP

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Lisa Rathke / AP

Nicholas Nicolet and his son Rocco cross-country skiing Sunday in Montpellier, Vermont. A major winter storm hit the Midwest and New England this weekend.

Lisa Rathke / AP

A severe winter storm disrupts transportation routes in parts of New England and the Midwest after bringing snow and freezing rain.

The National Weather Service issued warnings or warnings of a winter storm on all or part of the terrain. at least eight states and states of emergency have been declared in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Amtrak canceled some trains along the Northeast Corridor and more than 9,000 flights were delayed or canceled Sunday, according to FlightAware.com.

Meteorologist Rich Otto of the Weather Prediction Center told NPR: "The storm is currently located near the coasts of New Jersey and Long Island, and will be heading northeast across Cape Cod, off the coast of New Jersey. Maine coast tonight, early Monday morning. "

" We were informed that the accumulation of freezing rain would have increased by more than a quarter of an inch, which, I suppose, will have adverse effects on power lines and tree branches, "Otto continued. "You combine ice and snow with what should happen later tonight and tonight, which is a strong boost of cold air and strong winds, with gusts ranging from 20 to 40 km / h, locally higher, along the coast, and this is likely to generate a lot of power cuts, beyond what could already happen in New England. "

Meteorologists say the storm was created by the shock of a high pressure system of the Arctic with a low pressure system in the Ohio Valley. As ice accumulated on trees and power lines, Connecticut utilities reported that more than 14,000 customers did not have electricity. The storm brought up to 11 inches of snow in parts of the state of New York at night. In New York, the snow was followed by rain, which is expected to turn into ice later Sunday, while parts of New England could see up to 2 feet of snow.

The storm will leave chilly air in its wake, with Arctic wind chill temperatures as low as 35 below expected in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warned that temperatures could drop tonight to 30 degrees below zero in the Berkshires.

On Saturday, the storm dumped 10 inches of snow over part of the Midwest, leaving more than 13 000 outage points in the state of Ohio and ravaged many travelers in the region. In Kansas, a snowplow driver was killed when the plow hit the edge of a road, returned and rolled on it. Slippery roads led to a pile-up of 15 vehicles in Missouri, and a United Airlines plane skidded off the runway at Oporto International Hare airport on Saturday morning.

Otto told NPR that he expected the winter cold would continue to invade much of the eastern United States over the next few weeks. "By looking at the prospects of the Climate Prediction Center for the next two weeks, he is in favor of high confidence for temperatures well below average over the eastern half of the country," he said. declared.