A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S. on Sunday, as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” to some areas.

Snow and ice blanketed major roadways in nearly all of Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists who were stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70, as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. The warning extended to New Jersey for today and into early Tuesday.

“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said early Sunday.

About 63 million people in the U.S. were under some kind of winter weather advisory, watch or warning on Sunday, according to Bob Oravec with the National Weather Service.

Snow and ice

In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads as plows worked to keep up with the pace of the precipitation.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

Part of I-70 was closed in central Kansas by Saturday afternoon. Roughly 10 inches of snow had fallen in parts of the state, with snow and sleet totals predicted to top 14 inches in Kansas and Missouri.

Parts of upstate New York saw 3 feet or more of snow from a lake effect event expected to last until late Sunday afternoon.

Wrecks galore

The National Weather Service warned that road travel could be “very difficult to impossible.”

By Sunday, dozens of car accidents had been reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for injuries after his police car was hit on Interstate 65.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state emergency ahead of the storm, said state buildings would be closed Monday.

“We see far too many wrecks out there for people that do not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside. Stay safe with your family. Let the road crews do their work,” the governor said on social media. “We want to make sure that nobody gets hurt and everybody gets through this safely, so please look out for each other.”

Governors in Missouri and Arkansas also declared states of emergency.

Air and rail travel

The storms also caused havoc for the nation’s railways, leading to numerous cancelations. More than 20 cancelations were planned on Sunday, 40 for today and at least two for Tuesday.

“If local authorities are telling people not to travel, it’s counterintuitive to try to run a full slate of services when people are being told to stay home,” Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said. “Likewise, we know our people are going to have trouble getting in to work.”

Nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport also were canceled.

Temperatures dip

Starting today, the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees below normal.

In Chicago on Sunday, temperatures hovered in the teens and around zero in Minneapolis, while dropping to 11 below in International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border.

The Northeastern states are more likely to experience several days of cold following what has mostly been a mild start to winter, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. A plume of cold air coming down from Canada is likely to result in a cold but dry week, he said.

The cold air will likely grip the eastern half of the country as far south as Georgia, Palmer said.

Disruptions expand

The National Weather Service predicted 8 to 12 inches of snow for the Annapolis, Maryland, area, with temperatures remaining below freezing.

In a statement on X, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday evening ahead of the storm and encouraged residents to vote before the state’s special elections on Tuesday.

Similar declarations were issued in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and in central Illinois cities.