Travel will become treacherous Tuesday through early Wednesday in much of Virginia and West Virginia the National Weather Service said.
Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, allowing state agencies to assist local governments. Schools and government offices throughout Virginia were closed Tuesday.
The heaviest snow, up to 10 inches, was forecast in portions of northern and central Virginia and eastern West Virginia. Ice accumulations could range from a glaze in Kentucky and West Virginia to a half-inch in the Roanoke Valley of southwest Virginia, the weather service said. Power outages and tree damage were likely in places with heavy ice buildups.
Appalachian Power, which serves 1 million customers in West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee, said it has requested 700 additional workers from neighboring utilities to assist with problems by Tuesday morning.
In East Tennessee, forecasters warned that the flood threat will increase throughout the week, with up to 8 inches of rain possible by Sunday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it was taking steps to capture runoff and mitigate flood risk, including lowering some lake levels and emptying storage reservoirs.
Winter storm warnings extended from Kentucky to southern New Jersey, and a flood watch was posted for a wide swath of Kentucky, Tennessee, southwest Virginia and northern Georgia. The snow-and-ice mix was expected to become all rain as temperatures climb by Wednesday afternoon.
A separate storm system is set to bring heavy snow from Kansas and Missouri to the Great Lakes on Wednesday, the weather service said.
Dangerous cold was forecast Tuesday from an Arctic air mass stretching from Portland, Oregon, to the Great Lakes.
In Detroit, two children under age 10 likely died from exposure to the cold after they were discovered with other family members Monday in a van in a casino parking garage, police said. Their family may have been living in the van, police said.
