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 A winter storm system is forecast to move through the U.S. South
on Tuesday, bringing snow, freezing rain and high winds as bitter
cold temperatures continue in the Midwest, according to the National
Weather Service.
Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and other parts of the upper Midwest
are forecast to have a second consecutive day of subzero highs on
Tuesday, while most of the Northeast will see highs in the single
digits and teens on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to
Accuweather.com.
National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Krein blamed the
weather on a surge of arctic high pressure out of Canada that has
spread over the upper Midwest and central plains.
Even weather-hardy Midwesterners expressed weariness on Monday with
the subzero cold snap, the second this month.
"I'm real sick of it," said Romik Stewart, 20, who was waiting for a
bus in Milwaukee to go to his job at a fast food restaurant. "I've
had enough of this already. It's too much."
The weather will force schools to close on Tuesday in New Orleans,
Minneapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee, and government offices in
Indianapolis, Galveston and Milwaukee County will also be closed.
Tulane University in New Orleans, University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor, and The Ohio State University in Columbus have canceled
classes ahead of Tuesday's storm.
Amtrak has also canceled a number of train routes in and out of
Chicago on Tuesday because of the frigid weather conditions.
For much of the South, a winter storm warning will be in effect on
Tuesday, including in New Orleans where winds will gust and ice and
snow will accumulate on the roads, making travel hazardous,
according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy snow was expected beginning on Tuesday across eastern North
Carolina, while coastal South Carolina will get rare ice
accumulation with some snow, and temperatures will be below freezing
on Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service predicts.
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The frigid temperatures also were causing ice to accumulate on the
Mississippi and Illinois rivers, slowing the movement of grain
barges to the U.S. Gulf, according to Drew Lerner, a meteorologist
at World Weather Inc.
"I'm very ready for the spring," said 18-year-old Caroline Burns, a
student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, as she walked from her
residence hall to class.
Nearly 900 flights have been canceled within, into and out of the
United States on Monday, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks
flights.
Wind gusts of up to 35 mph knocked down power lines in the
Dallas-Forth Worth area in Texas and temperatures were expected to
fall into the 20s overnight from highs in the 60s and 70s over the
weekend, the weather service said.
In Alaska, the roughly 4,000 residents of Valdez remained cut off to
road traffic from the rest of the state Monday after weekend
avalanches blocked the road to the coastal town, officials said.
(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; additional reporting by Brendan
O'Brien in Milwaukee, Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, David Bailey in
Minneapolis, Kim Palmer in Cleveland, Colleen Jenkins in
Winston-Salem, N.C., Harriet McLeod in Charleston, S.C., and Karen
Brooks in Austin; editing by Steve Orlofsky and Ken Wills)
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