Winter Storm Dion is putting a frozen white coating across nearly the entire landscape of the United States this weekend.
The storm started at the beginning of the weekend, with record low temperatures and snow in Washington, California, and Nevada. Jordan, Montana took the prize for the lowest recorded temperature in the country for this storm, with a frigid negative 42 degrees.
Gaining in ferocity, the storm left many in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee homebound as the states were pelted with ice and snow, making roads icy and extremely dangerous. Over a quarter of a million Texans were without power the night of the storm, and about 400 flights that would have departed from Dallas-Ft.Worth International Airport were cancelled on Sunday. 7,000 residents of Tennessee are still without electricity.
The Midwest, including lower Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa are receiving light snow today, but with far less fury than the rest of the country with only 1-3 inches predicted.
The worst part of the storm is now moving northeast and is currently headed through Appalachia, where significant ice accumulation is expected as cold air “dams” up against the mountains. Winter Storm Dion is expected to proceed up the East Coast tonight, spreading ice, snow, and freezing rain from Washington, DC through New England all the way to upstate New York.
The National Weather Service says that the cold weather system will depart the east coast on Monday.
Has the storm affected you? Share winter storm stories in the comments section below.
Sources:
The Weather Channel
Reuters
The Associated Press