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Temperatures continue to drop below average in the season's coldest blast of arctic air so far. VPC
Workers clear the sidewalks of snow outside the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)
A fast-moving blast of arctic air drove the Midwest into the deep freeze Tuesday, spreading traffic-snarling snow from Chicago to New York City to Washington, D.C., and set the stage and set the stage for a second round of bitterly cold temperatures on Wednesday.
In the Plains, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic, snowfall totals from the first storm were mainly in the 3-6 inch range, the Weather Channel reported. Washington Dulles Airport had picked up 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the heavy snow had ended as of late-morning.
As the system heads offshore, plunging temperatures from another system will be the main story. By Wednesday and Thursday, many spots in the north-central and northeastern U.S. will see their coldest temperatures since last winter.
Wind chill temperatures are forecast to dive well below zero at times in the Midwest and Northeast. The cold will spend multiple hours at "dangerously low and life-threatening levels," said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
The wintry chill will even pierce the South -- all the way to the Gulf Coast -- sending low temperatures into the 20s in New Orleans and San Antonio by Thursday morning, The Weather Channel predicts.
A United States Park Service employee clears snow from in front of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)
Record low temperatures set decades ago will be challenged in parts of the Midwest on Wednesday night into early Thursday, AccuWeather said. The record low in Chicago Thursday is -11 degrees, set in 1942. Thursday's record at Des Moines is -17 degrees, set in 1886.
YOUR TAKE: Share your snow day photos
Tuesday's storm, which began easing at mid-day, is expected to leave an inch or two of snow from southern New England and eastern Pennsylvania to the Washington area. Up to six inches was likely in northern New England by day's end.
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A heavy morning snow brought slippery roads to the nation's capital, prompting the federal government to allow many workers to telecommute. Dozens of area schools were closed.
Some students in Virginia's Fairfax county, a Washington suburb, were so unhappy about having to go to school in cold, snowy conditions that they triggered a worldwide Twitter trend with the hashtag #CloseFCPS, WUSA-TV reports.
After the school district sent out an email asking students to be patient with school buses were delayed, some students fired back asking why schools were not closing in such weather. One tweet to a school board member noted that #CloseFPS was trending and added: "give the people what they want."
In a surprising move, the school district agreed. "It is clear that our decision to keep schools open today was the wrong call given the intensity of this weather system," the school district said in an email to parents Tuesday afternoon. "We are very sorry for that. We have heard from many of our families and we are listening. We thank you for your patience and working with us through this very difficult circumstance. Student safety is always our first priority in determining whether to open or close schools."
More than 380 flights had been canceled nationwide as of 9:30 a.m. ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. That's a relatively modest number nationally, but several major airports were seeing above-normal delay and cancellation tallies, including Washington's Reagan National Airport, which had 80- cancellations by mid-morning.
Some flight disruptions also were being reported at Washington Dulles and Baltimore/Washington International, the metro area's two other major airports.
FLIGHT DELAYS: Trouble spots loom
In Chicago, as the storm settled in, about 270 flights were canceled Monday, forcing hundreds of passengers to spend the night on cots at O'Hare Airport, WGN-TV reports. More than 1,000 flights were delayed at O'Hare and another 36 at Midway.
Some passengers who made it into O'Hare Monday night said they had to sit on the tarmac for hours waiting for open gates as crews de-iced planes preparing for departure, WGN reports.
Contributing: Associated Press
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