At Least 150 Million Americans Are In Path of Winter Storm

Snowfall blankets in Dallas on Sunday, February 14, 2021. From Oregon to the Southeast, Americans were facing heavy snow, perilous ice and dangerously low temperatures across much of the country. (PC-Nitashia Johnson/The New York Times)

A sprawling winter storm pummeled a large swath of the United States on Monday, delivering heavy snowfall and icy conditions as temperatures plunged well below freezing.

The coast-to-coast storm has knocked out power for several million people across the country. Ice-slicked roads have led to highway pileups and sent 18-wheelers careening off the pavement.

The National Weather Service said early Monday that at least 150 million Americans were under ice or winter weather advisories. As the storm continued to intensify, officials urged residents to brace themselves.

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“The time to prepare for this storm was yesterday,” the National Weather Service in Texas said in an ominous warning issued on Sunday.

More than 120 accidents were reported on roads overnight in Houston, including a 10-vehicle tangle on Interstate 45. In Oklahoma, a crash northeast of Oklahoma City led to several semi trucks catching fire, authorities said.

The storm, which brought record low temperatures in Minnesota and dumped 11 inches of snow in Seattle, is now barraging parts of the country that are far less familiar with the worst of winter.

“This will be probably more snow over a larger swath of land to a higher degree than ever before in Texas history,” Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said at a news conference. Even the state’s Gulf Coast was put under freeze warnings. Both the state and the federal government have issued disaster declarations for all 254 counties in Texas because of the weather. President Joe Biden approved the federal declaration Sunday.

The conditions stem from a strong high pressure system that has moved down from the Arctic Circle, bringing some of the lowest temperatures that parts of the country have experienced in years, said Michael J. Ventrice, a meteorological scientist with IBM.

The collision between the Arctic high and warmer, wetter air to the south was producing “a very impactful winter storm” that would stretch from Texas and Louisiana all the way up to the Northeast, he said.

The temperatures in the middle of the country are expected to approach record lows. In Oklahoma City, the temperature on Tuesday is forecast to be minus 9 degrees. The record low of minus 17 degrees was set in 1899.

Temperatures in parts of Oklahoma were 40 degrees lower than usual for this time of year, the National Weather Service said. The duration of the cold conditions is also unusual: Oklahoma may experience nine consecutive days of temperatures below 20 degrees, the weather service said.

“This could be one of the most costly natural disasters of the year,” said Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a company that provides information to clients about weather and climate-related risk. “Texas, which is known for hurricanes, is not known for snow and cold damage” such as burst water pipes, he said, and “it’s not in spite of climate change, but related to climate change.”

In Texas, Austin was locked down for the worst winter storm in a generation. Tree branches laden with icicles bowed toward the ground. Parked cars were covered by sheets of ice. The city with palm trees and typically mild weather braced for possibly more than 5 inches of snow, an amount not seen since 1966.

The parking lot at a grocery store in San Antonio was full as shoppers grabbed last-minute items before the market closed four hours early.

For Zoe Waldron, 30, the polar vortex and gray sky made her nostalgic for La Conner, Washington, her hometown. But in San Antonio? “It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event,” she said.

(Authors: Rick Rojas and Marie Fazio)/(c.2021 The New York Times Company)