A severe March storm continues to sweep across the United States, bringing heavy snow, destructive wind gusts, and widespread travel disruptions from Texas to New York, reports Baltimore Chronicle. Airlines have canceled thousands of flights, while millions of residents face power outages and hazardous conditions across multiple states.
The storm system, affecting the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions, has created blizzards, ice storms, and high winds that have disrupted both ground and air travel. According to FlightAware.com, more than 4,500 flights within or departing the United States were canceled on Monday alone, with nearly 10,000 flights delayed. The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary ground stops for all Delta Air Lines and United Airlines flights arriving at Atlanta and Houston hubs due to limited gate availability. Between Saturday and Monday morning, over 5,000 flights were canceled nationwide, including 3,000 on Sunday alone.
Wisconsin was among the hardest-hit areas, recording over 2 feet of snow in some regions. The city of Wausau accumulated 23.4 inches of snow on Sunday, with totals continuing to rise into Monday. Blizzard conditions persisted in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, with Minneapolis reporting 8.8 inches overnight. Meanwhile, the storm produced at least 391 reports of damaging winds across eight states, including Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and New York, where gusts reached 70 mph or more. Power outages affected over 500,000 utility customers from Texas to New York, primarily in northern Michigan, where ice storms toppled power lines.
In the South, the storm intensified dry and windy conditions, fueling a critical fire threat. Nebraska reported three significant wildfires, including the Morrill Fire, which burned more than 700,000 acres across several counties and killed at least one person in Arthur County, according to Governor Jim Pillen. Red flag warnings were issued from southern Texas to southern Louisiana, covering cities such as Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi.
Severe storm risks continued to spread along the East Coast, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, encompassing Washington, D.C., Richmond, and Raleigh. Areas from Georgia to Pennsylvania, including Savannah, Charleston, Charlotte, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, faced potential wind gusts exceeding 70 mph and tornado risks around midday. A tornado watch extended from the Florida Panhandle to West Virginia and included Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and much of New Jersey until 7 p.m. ET on Monday.
Snowfall was expected to reach from western Virginia through West Virginia, eastern Pennsylvania, and western New York by Monday evening, while showers and thunderstorms moved along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine. Lake-effect snow was forecast to persist through Tuesday along the eastern Great Lakes, and additional snowfall was anticipated from the Dakotas to Ohio into Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the western United States faced record-breaking temperatures as a summer-like heat dome developed. Cities including Sacramento, San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Denver could reach all-time highs for March. Extreme heat warnings were issued for southern Arizona and Northern California’s Bay Area, with temperatures potentially reaching the mid-90s, and parts of Southern California were projected to hit 109 degrees.
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