Severe Storms Pummel Parts Of U.S. With Snow And High Winds And Raise Tornado Threat

Forecasters said mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., were at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes.

CHICAGO (AP) — Successive punches of snow and wind were impacting the eastern half of the United States on Monday as severe weather swept across much of the nation, making roads impassable in the Upper Midwest and canceling more than 2,000 flights nationwide.

Forecasters said mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., were at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes. The cold front was expected to move off the East Coast by Tuesday, bringing sharply colder weather in its wake, forecasters said.

By Tuesday morning, wind chills below freezing were expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle with freeze warnings in effect in parts of the Southeast and parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, forecasters warned. To the north, rain was expected to change over to snow behind the cold front with accumulations of more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) possible in the central Appalachians of West Virginia.

The late winter blast comes as Hawaii continued to be affected by a separate storm system that caused severe flooding over the weekend.

Forecasters Warn About Line Of Storms, Tornadoes