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Albuquerque woke up under a layer of snow that resulted in school closures and traffic delays throughout New Mexico. (February 19)
UNITED STATES TODAY & # 39; HUI

A winter storm is expected to make waves in all states east of the Mississippi, Wednesday in the east, resulting in snow, ice storms, school cancellations and vehicle restrictions.

Brett Edwards, a meteorologist for AccuWeather, said the cities of Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Washington should have the biggest snow on Wednesday. The winter storm is expected to end on Thursday.

"A significant ice threat is also expected on the Appalachian backbone, from the far southwest of North Carolina to Pennsylvania and parts of the far south of New York," Edwards said. "One can expect an ice secretion of more than half an inch in parts of West Virginia and Virginia, which can result in grounded power lines, branches of the woods." Trees fall and roads are very icy. "

The public schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul canceled their classes and activities on Wednesday, forecasting an inch of snow per hour during morning commutes. Authorities scheduled vehicle restrictions on Pennsylvania highways early Wednesday, calling people to watch for snow and ice.

A quarter of an inch of ice weighed down branches and power lines in Boone County, Arkansas, cutting power for 2,000 homes Tuesday night. Car accidents and road closures occurred Tuesday night in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, AccuWeather announced.

More than 1,200 flights had already been canceled on Wednesday, with FlightAware flight tracking at 2:00 am EST.

On Wednesday, 4 to 8 inches of snow is expected from eastern Nebraska over eastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. Temperatures will be below the Dakota freeze point in the Upper Mississippi Valley until Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

The central Atlantic will turn into freezing snow and freezing rain, followed by rain. In areas near the central Appalachians, snow and ice accumulation up to 0.25 inches (4 to 8 inches) can be observed.

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In the south, an additional 1 to 3 inches of heavy rain will fall on already saturated land until Wednesday afternoon. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood and flood alerts of the Lower Mississippi Valley in parts of the Ohio Valley.

According to the National Weather Service, in the western Rocky Mountains, maximum temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average until Thursday. More than one foot of snow is expected until Thursday night in some of the major mountain ranges, ranging from Washington and Oregon to Arizona and southwestern Colorado.

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