Winter storm batters central, eastern US

The storm has canceled over 1,300 flights nationwide, including significant disruptions at Washington, DC-area airports. (Pexels Photo)

By Anadolu, Philippine News Agency

WASHINGTON – A powerful winter storm blanketed Central and Eastern US states with snow and ice early Monday, creating hazardous travel conditions and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations as it moved toward the East Coast.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri to New Jersey, forecasting snowfall totals unseen in a decade for some areas.

Nearly 300,000 customers were without power early Monday in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us.

In Indiana, the National Guard was activated to assist stranded motorists as snow and ice blanketed major highways.

The storm has canceled over 1,300 flights nationwide, including significant disruptions at Washington, DC-area airports.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported 239 cancellations, while Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw 109 canceled flights.

Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland braced for up to a foot of snow, with federal offices and schools closed and snow emergencies declared.

The district deployed nearly 250 snowplows to clear streets, DC Transportation Department director Sharon Kershbaum told ABC news.

If the capital gets more than 8.3 inches (21.1 centimeters) of snow, it would mark its biggest snowstorm since 2016, when a massive 45.2 centimeters (17.8 inches) fell, according to several U.S. media outlets, citing forecasters.