Massive snow storm hits the USA

Описание: A massive winter storm that stretches across the U.S. has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in the South and is now taking aim at the East Coast, crippling travel.

The massive storm is bringing heavy snow and dangerous freezing rain to a wide swath of the country on Sunday.

Snow totals so far have topped 8 inches in Arkansas, 11 inches in Illinois and Ohio, 13 inches in Indiana, 8 in Kansas, 12 in Missouri, 7 in Oklahoma and New Jersey, 6 in Texas and 5 in Tennessee.

Winter storm warnings were issued in cities including Dallas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; St. Louis, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and Boston.

At least 3 inches of sleet have fallen in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee, while at least half an inch of freezing rain has been recorded in Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Ice storm warnings are in effect from Texas to Tennessee to Georgia to the Carolinas. This is the first time an ice storm warning has been issued for the Greenville-Spartanburg area of South Carolina in over 20 years.

Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday, a band of heavy snow and a wintry mix could bring snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour to the Interstate 95 corridor. Philadelphia will likely get a wintry mix or freezing rain, while New York City and areas to the north will get snow.

By Sunday evening, the heavy snow will reach New England. Some light snow could linger in the Northeast into Monday morning.

Wind gusts are reaching 32 mph at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, bringing visibility down to one-quarter of a mile.

In Dallas and Jackson, Mississippi, wind gusts are up to 25 mph. These strong winds pose a major threat because they could topple the trees and power lines that are coated in ice. The worst of the ice storm is now over for Louisiana and Mississippi, with the ice now headed to Tennessee.

But the ice isn’t the only danger -- residents also need to be prepared for the blast of freezing air hitting the South. Snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour are being reported from Philadelphia to New York City on Sunday. Snow totals are about 3 to 4 inches so far, with several more hours to go before sleet begins to mix in.

Heavy sleet is falling in Washington, D.C., and most of Virginia.

More than 10,000 flights have been canceled within, into or out of the U.S. on Sunday, including all flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and most flights at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Sunday will be considered one of the biggest weather-related flight cancellation days in U.S. history.