An icy blanket of cold temperatures set to envelop a large chunk of the nation was creeping across the southern Plains and into the South early Tuesday. The arctic blast wreaked havoc on the roads and skies Monday, with snow-packed motorways from Wisconsin to Denver and hundreds of canceled and delayed flights. The deep chill was set to reach as far south as the Texas Panhandle by the end of Tuesday, while continuing to lock parts of the central and northern Plains in subzero temperatures.
Places like Amarillo, Texas, and Oklahoma City were expected to see temperatures rapidly drop 15 to 25 degrees, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Roy Lucksinger. "It certainly conforms to the saying in that part of the country, 'If you don't like the weather, wait a couple of hours,'" Lucksinger said. "But even though people are somewhat accustomed to rapid changes in the weather, it will still come as a shock to people stepping out their front door this morning."
Mountainous regions across Kansas to Denver were expected to get another inch or two of snow through Tuesday, and by 4 a.m. ET there were already 38 canceled flights in and out of Denver International Airport. The cold air also could hit the northeast, with temperatures in New York and Boston expected in the 30s, Lucksinger said. By later in the week, even Las Vegas could see snow, something that hasn't happened since 2008.
IN-DEPTH
— Alexander Smith