A polar vortex kept much of the country in its icy grip Jan. 4-5 and brought its bitter cold to the Southern U.S. On Jan. 6, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated a state of emergency in anticipation of the severe winter storm.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures at or below freezing were expected across large areas of the state. Some areas faced disruptive snow, ice, and freezing rain, causing potentially hazardous travel conditions.
“As temperatures begin to drop below freezing and regions of Texas face snow, ice, and freezing rain, it is crucial that everyone remain weather-aware, check DriveTexas.org before traveling, and heed the guidance of state and local officials. Texans can find the warming center nearest them at tdem.texas.gov/warm,” said Gov. Abbott.
Washington, D.C. received heavy snow, and in Kentucky’s biggest city, Louisville, ice covered driveways and roads. Frozen rain fell atop snow that arrived on Jan 5. Ice and snow blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 mph. The warnings extended to New Jersey into early Jan. 7.
About 200,000 customers were without power across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois and Missouri, according to electric utility tracking website poweroutage.us. —Charlene Muhammad, National Correspondent