Next cross-country storm to bring snow, extreme cold
ABC News
The next cross-country storm is already underway with snowy weather scattered across the Cascades, Rockies and into the Plains as of Monday morning, with the system forecast to sweep south and east through into Wednesday.
Heavy snow is expected to fall throughout Kansas, southern Missouri and northern Oklahoma on Tuesday morning. By the evening, heavy snowfall is forecast to have spread to northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Travel is expected to be significantly affected in those areas — including on interstates — with 6 to 12 inches of snow forecast.
By Wednesday morning, the storm will bring snowfall to Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. Nashville, Tennessee, could see between 3 and 6 inches of snow.
Virginia is also expected to see snow on Wednesday, with Norfolk and Richmond experiencing as much as 6 inches of snowfall. Washington, D.C. is set to escape the most extreme weather, but may also see a couple of inches of snowfall.
Coming cold snap
The snow flurries will be followed by plunging temperatures, with more than 65 million Americans now under cold weather alerts across 13 states from Texas to Minnesota.
Wind chills in North Dakota could reach 60 below zero, at which frostbite can occur on exposed skin in minutes.
Minneapolis could feel temperatures as low as 42 below zero Monday and Tuesday, with Kansas City feeling like 30 below zero on Thursday morning.
Tulsa could feel like 17 below zero Wednesday and Thursday, with Dallas feeling like 10 below zero.
Numerous daily record low temperatures are possible in this region this week.
(NEW YORK) — A strengthening storm system will move across the country this week, bringing blizzard conditions to the Heartland and tornadoes and damaging winds to the South.
On Monday, the storm is focused on the Rockies and the Southwest, bringing mountain snow from Southern California to Colorado.
Meanwhile, there’s an extreme fire danger in New Mexico and western Texas. The combination of gusty winds up to 65 mph and relative humidity down to 5% will make conditions ripe to spread wildfires.
As this storm moves east, severe weather will break out across the South starting Monday night and Tuesday morning from Dallas to Oklahoma City.
Damaging winds and a few tornadoes will be the biggest threat.
On Tuesday, the storm will bring dangerous winter weather conditions to the Heartland.
A blizzard warning is in effect for Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado.
Winter storm watches have been issued in Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where more than 6 inches of snow and near-whiteout conditions are possible.
In the South, severe thunderstorms are expected Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Strong tornadoes are possible in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.
Damaging winds over 60 mph will be possible during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans; Mobile, Alabama; and Birmingham, Alabama.
(NEW YORK) — Males detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be housed in units in several federal prisons around the country, according to the memorandum of understanding between the Bureau of Prisons and ICE, obtained exclusively by ABC News.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities that will house ICE detainees are the Federal Detention Center, Miami; Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia; Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta; and Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth in Kansas; and Federal Correctional Institution, Berlin in New Hampshire, according to the memorandum.
BOP will not house female ICE detainees.
“ICE shall only place detainees at institutions designated by the BOP and may not place detainees at institutions without specific authorization by BOP,” according to the agreement.
The agreement, signed on Feb. 6, said that ICE will have at least two officers at every BOP facility that holds ICE detainees and the BOP will have final say on who gets into the facility.
Detainees who are disruptive at facilities will be kicked out of BOP institutions, according to the agreement.
One source who ABC News spoke with said housing ICE detainees has not been BOP’s mission for some time, and suggested the staffing shortage might hinder the Bureau’s ability to care for ICE detainees.
Since his inauguration last month, President Donald Trump has been working to deliver on his campaign promise to crack down on immigration by targeting areas like birthright citizenship and refugee status.
The administration has even used Guantanamo Bay — the military base in Cuba — to house the influx of arrested migrants.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A medical transport plane, carrying a child, her mother and four other people, crashed in Philadelphia Friday night near a busy mall, killing all aboard and resulting in an untold number of injuries on the ground.
The Learjet 55 crashed near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to authorities.
The exact number of the injured is not yet available, officials said.
“Many people on the ground – in parking lots, on streets, in cars and homes in the area – were injured; the number of injured is yet to be released but the information shared at this time reports that a number of people were transported to Temple University Hospital, Jeans Campus in the Northeast,” the office of Mayor Cherelle Parker said Saturday.
“Right now, we’re just asking for prayers,” Parker told reporters Friday night. She urged residents to stay away from the scene.
In a statement, Shriner’s Hospital said the child had received care from the Philadelphia hospital and was being taken back to her home country of Mexico along with her mother on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened.
The company that operated the flight, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, said in a statement there were four crew members on board.
“At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in the statement. “No names are being released at this time until family members have been notified. Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.”
The air ambulance was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to Flight Radar24 data.
“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement Saturday. “The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”
A large fire burned in the wake of the crash, prompting a significant response.
“We heard a loud explosion and then saw the aftermath of flames and smoke,” eyewitness Jimmy Weiss told local ABC station WPVI near the scene.
He added, “It felt like the ground shook .. it was a loud boom. It was startling.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
An NTSB investigator arrived at the scene Friday night with additional team members expected to arrive Saturday.
Temple University Hospital told ABC News it had received six patients hurt in the crash, although it was not clear if they were in the plane or people who were on the ground.
Three of those patients were treated and released and three remain hospitalized in fair condition, the hospital said.
Speaking at a follow-up press briefing Friday night, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said dozens of state troopers and other state personnel were on on hand to offer help and praised local responders and community members.
“We saw neighbor helping neighbor. We saw Pennsylvanians looking out for one another,” he said.
In a statement posted to social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump said: “So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all.”
Immediately after the crash, the FAA issued a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport due to “an aircraft incident.”
The FAA had initially reported there were two people on board the aircraft but later corrected that report.
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
