Heavy snow, freezing rain and temperatures as much as 35 degrees below seasonal averages are set to hit large parts of the United States as a string of storms confirm that winter is far from over.
More than 90 million people are under winter weather alerts, with heavy snow due for northern Kentucky into West Virginia, the Washington metro area and Maryland, as well as parts of the Ohio Valley and across the mid-Atlantic.
The winter storm hitting Tuesday is forecast to bring between 4 and 8 inches of snow, likely falling at 1 inch per hour, from northeast Kentucky to Virginia and the Interstate 95 corridor — promising to make the evening commute particularly dangerous for many.
West Virginia had already seen up to 9 inches of snow by Tuesday afternoon, with some areas of Kentucky recording 6 inches.
As much as 10 inches of snow is possible in parts of Kansas, with large amounts expected along and north of I-70.
The same storm is set to dump heavy rain across the South and the Southeast, which could cause localized flooding.
In addition, freezing rain could mean as much as a half-inch of ice in the Appalachians from northern North Carolina into Virginia, bringing hazards for commuters and the possibility of power outages.
An Arctic blast of cold air will make temperatures 25 to 35 degrees below average across the northern Rockies to the upper Great Lakes and the central high Plains, prompting an extreme cold weather warning, the National Weather Service said.
North Dakota could see it get as cold as minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit when the wind chill factor is added in, creating life-threatening conditions, the agency warned.
A second storm began to form over eastern Colorado on Tuesday and is expected to bring heavy snow to the Plains, the Midwest and the Upper Midwest late tonight through Wednesday.
And just as those are recovering from that winter onslaught, many of the same areas will be hit by another winter storm Wednesday into Thursday.
This weather system will bring more snow to the Midwest and the Great Lakes, as well as more rain and ice to the mid-Atlantic. This low-pressure system is set to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms over the lower Mississippi Valley and the wider Southeast into Thursday.
And another storm is forecast to hit the Northeast this weekend, from the Midwest to the East Coast.
But the region will already begin to see some snowfall as early as Tuesday evening from Pennsylvania and New Jersey into southeast New York.
Philadelphia, which is expected to host its Super Bowl Parade on Friday, could see between 2 to 4 inches on Tuesday.
In Utah, there were stark warnings over the threat of avalanches, which have killed four people this year so far. Drew Hardesty, with the Utah Avalanche Center, told NBC affiliate KSL of Salt Lake City that a skier triggered an avalanche 200 feet wide Monday on Mount Superior. No one was reported missing or injured.
“It’s been a very dangerous year. As of Saturday, that was our fourth avalanche fatality this year,” Hardesty said. “We average just a little over two. It’s been a very dangerous and unstable snowpack really since Thanksgiving.”
The West Coast is not spared from the cold snap: A storm system is set to arrive in California late Wednesday, producing rain and snow in higher areas.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass held a news conference ahead of the storm to warn residents that the area is at an increased risk of debris flows from last month’s wildfires.
“The city is making preparations for the rain, we have a head start,” Bass said.
More than 7,500 feet of concrete barricades and another 6,500 sandbags have been deployed throughout the Palisades, Bass said. Residents are welcome to go to Los Angeles fire stations to collect sandbags for themselves in anticipation of potential floods.
The storm drain system has been cleared, and authorities are working to prevent polluted water from running off into the ocean, according to Bass.
