Deadly storm in Midwest moves east, knocking out power to 200,000 in wake
A winter storm that slammed some parts of the Midwest and that officials say contributed to the deaths of at least nine people was moving east Sunday, leaving disruptions to travel and electric power in its wake.
Much of the snow was winding down in the Midwest, Dan Pydynowski, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, said. “There is still some light lingering snow around St. Louis and parts of central Illinois,” he said, adding that it was expected to stop by late Sunday evening.
But as the Midwest dug itself out, the storm was continuing east Sunday. The system delivered snow to Baltimore; Washington; Delaware; parts of New Jersey; and the mountains in Virginia. Pydynowski said the snow would continue across southern New Jersey until very early Monday morning before ending.
As of early Sunday afternoon, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago reported 35 delayed flights and four cancellations, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.com. In Washington, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported 53 delayed flights and 70 cancellations.
The storm also caused power failures, with more than 45,000 customers in Missouri and more than 24,000 in Kansas reported without power, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us. In Virginia, more than 33,000 customers had lost power. As of early Sunday afternoon, more than 100,000 customers were without power in North Carolina.
The storm created wintry conditions that led to the deaths of at least nine people, including a state trooper in Illinois, according to authorities. Missouri got up to 17 inches of snow in the central part of the state, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists expect the storm to die down by early Monday morning, but not before leaving 2 to 4 inches of snow in parts of Atlantic City.
“Most places have seen the worst of it,” Pydynowski said. “By the time most people are waking up on Monday morning, it will be done.”