Winter storms bring possible Arctic cold, snow to Midwest and Northeast

Freezing winter weather blanketed the US on Saturday as a wave of arctic storms threatened to break record low temperatures in the heartland, spread cold and snow from coast to coast and dump cold on everything. football playoffs to presidential campaigns .

As the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend began, the weather forecast was a maddening quilt of color-coded advisories, from an ice storm warning in Oregon to a blizzard warning in the northern plains to high wind warnings in New Mexico .

Governors from New York to Louisiana warned residents to be prepared for worrisome weather.

“All in all, it's been a terrible, terrible winter. And it came out of nowhere – two days,” said Dan Abinana as he surveyed a snowy Des Moines, Iowa. He moved to the state from Tanzania as a child years ago, but said he “never gets used to the snow”.

In Portland, Oregon, coroners were investigating a death from hypothermia as freezing rain and heavy snow fell on a city more used to mild winter rains and hundreds of people took refuge overnight in warming centers. Weather-related deaths were already reported earlier in the week in California, Idaho, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen declared a state of emergency, citing “very dangerous conditions.” Up to 2 feet of snow fell in some areas last week and wind chills were well below freezing.

Effects from the storm included a 100-vehicle standoff on Interstate 80 in Iowa after semi-trailers jackknifed the slippery road and blocked traffic. Some cars were stuck in the same spot for five hours as snow surrounded the vehicles. Tow trucks had to be brought in to get it off the roadway.

Vehicles get stuck on roads listed as “NOT ADVISED FOR TRAVEL” or “IMPOSSIBLE” by the Iowa State Patrol he said.

“A lot of roads are closed,” said Sgt. Iowa State's Alex Dinkla said. “They (road crews) are working like crazy with the avalanches to open some roads, but they're actually having a hard time. Once they open them, they're actually blowing right back because of the strong winds we're seeing now.”

Storm postpones NFL playoff game

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned of a 'dangerous storm' as announced that the Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers NFL playoff game has been postponed from Sunday to Monday. Residents of the county that includes Buffalo were asked to stay off the roads starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, with the forecast for 1 to 2 feet or more of snow and winds of up to 65 mph.

Record temperatures possible in the Arctic

Parts of Montana dipped below minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday morning, and the National Weather Service said similar temperatures were expected as far north as Kansas, with minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit possible in the Dakotas. In St. Louis, the National Weather Service warned of a rare and “life-threatening” cold.

“We've had, now, a lot of storms in a row” marching across the country, said weather service meteorologist Zach Taylor. This usually happens at least a few times in the US winter.

But for Eboni Jones of Des Moines, it felt unusual for “how much we're all going to get in a week.”

“It's pretty crazy out there,” Jones said while shoveling snow.

Grant Rampton, 25, also of Des Moines, braved a minus-20F wind chill to sled with friends on a golf course, fighting the cold by wearing clothes and insulated socks and keeping in constant motion.

“It's a great state to be in,” said Rampton, a lifelong Iowan. “There's not that much to do, especially in the winter, but you can have your own fun, like out here sledding with your friends.”

The temperature in parts of Iowa could drop as low as minus 14 F on Monday, when the state's caucuses kick off the presidential primary season. And forecasters said it will be Wednesday before the sub-zero wind storms disappear.

Travel is limited for many

Republican candidates Ron DeSandis, Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump canceled all weekend campaign events because of the winter storm. Trump he said bad weather could work in his favor because cold temperatures could dampen support for opponents of Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on caucus night. Trump said his team told him the cold temperatures could be good for his turnout.

Iowa plow operators struggled Saturday to keep roads clear amid heavy snow and winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour, which blew the snow back onto the roads as soon as they were cleared. The Iowa Department of Transportation issued a statewide travel warning.

Cars were stuck for five hours in the snow on Interstate 80 after semi-trailers jackknifed in slippery conditions. State troopers had handled 86 crashes and 535 motorist assistance calls as of Friday, State Patrol Sgt. said Alex Dinkla.

Road crews were “working the snow blowers like crazy,” Dinkla said, but high winds blew the snow right onto the roads.

Dinkla said most of the assists were to help stalled cars and trucks get out. Fifteen people have been injured in accidents. In a wreck on an icy interstate highway, a semi-trailer struck a state patrol car and essentially wrecked it. The soldier escaped injury.

Even roads without snow are not safe.

“What we're seeing is people think the roads are clear in many areas, but they can't slow down because the roads are a sheet of ice,” Dinkla said.

In South Dakota, the air temperature Saturday morning was minus 17 F on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation, but a gust of 30 mph made it feel like minus 48 F. With a homeless shelter already at capacity, tribal leaders opened a gym for others need shelter.

Taylor Swift braves the cold to watch the Chiefs beat the Dolphins

The near-record cold in Kansas City caused a cold NFL playoff game Saturday night as the Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins 26-7.

It was minus -4 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, easily setting records for the coldest game at Arrowhead Stadium. But it was the wind gusts, gusting over 25 miles per hour and driving the wind chill to minus -27 degrees, that made the weather truly miserable for almost everyone.

That included pop star Taylor Swift, who once again showed up to see her Chiefs friend Travis Kelce.

At least he got to watch from a closed suite. Most fans huddled outside in parkas, ski goggles and snow pants, and players huddled around heaters on the sidelines as if it were an oasis in the cold. The National Weather Service issued a warning for what it called “dangerously cold” weather that had blanketed the Midwest.

In fact, the cold may have made Mahomes' helmet brittle enough that a hit in the third quarter knocked a chunk of the plastic shell off of it. Once officials saw the fist-sized hole, they had Mahomes grab a spare helmet from the counter.