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80 million people under winter alerts from Colorado to Maine as snowstorm hits

A quick burst of snow will blanket parts of the United States on Sunday, with more than 80 million people under winter weather alerts from Colorado to Maine. Th...
Winter storm

A quick burst of snow will blanket parts of the United States on Sunday, with more than 80 million people under winter weather alerts from Colorado to Maine.

The storm began developing Saturday and brought snow to the Central Plains, and is expected to bring rain, snow or a wintry mix to much of the Eastern United States.

Snow had already started falling in the Midwest by early morning Sunday. It will move into the Ohio River Valley by midday then to the East in the afternoon and the overnight hours, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Sunday ahead of the storm. As a result of the declaration and the coming snow, New Jersey State Police activated the State Emergency Operations Center on Sunday in order to monitor the storm. The state department of transportation will deploy more than 2,500 plows and spreaders to keep the roads clear.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the deployment of state resources to regions expected to be hit with snow. These resources include thousands of plow trucks, specialized law enforcement vehicles and 5,000 utility workers ready for restoration efforts.

“We have learned from experience that it is better to be over-prepared in these situations — if you’re not prepared before the storm, it is too late,” Cuomo said in a statement.

All New York City public schools will be closed Monday, according to tweets from the school system’s official account. Public schools in Boston also will be closed Monday, according to the Boston Public Schools website.

New York, Philadelphia, and Boston will get rain Sunday afternoon and transition to a wintry mix of snow by evening. New York will get 4-8 inches while Boston is expecting 5-10. Philadelphia will get 2-4 inches.

“The system is currently forecast to move out of DC, Philadelphia and New York between midnight and 4 a.m.,” Brink said. “Boston may have the worst commute as their snow will last through the morning rush hour.”

By Monday afternoon, the storm will move out of the Northeast, Brink said.

Moving East

Kansas and Missouri are expecting 2 to 4 inches of snow, and the Ohio River Valley is predicted to get up to 2 inches, according to Brink.

This season has seen unusually high amounts of snowfall in many regions. Caribou, Maine, was just shy of its record snowfall from the winter season 2007-2008 as of Saturday. Other areas already exceeding normal snow accumulations include Buffalo, New York, and Burlington, Vermont.

Severe weather in the South

Across the Southeast, 14 million people are expected to see severe weather, Brink said.

The National Weather Service predicts scattered tornadoes and gusts of wind in most of Central Georgia and parts of North Georgia on Sunday.

Southern and eastern Alabama could also see tornadoes on Sunday, Brink said.

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