Sunday's live blog - Winter storm poses ice, tornado threats

The first major winter storm of the season, and of 2025, is already bringing major impacts across the eastern two-thirds. This live blog will be updated throughout the day on Sunday, January 5, 2025. The last update will be at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Significant ice accumulation is being reported from Fort Scott, Kansas, coating tree limbs with half an inch of ice and strong winds have brought down branches onto power lines and property. The storm has left 500 customers in Bourbon County and 10,000 across the region without power as temperatures plunge into the teens.

A potent front has already moved across Texas and will begin moving across the Mid-South tonight. Temperatures in Dallas, Texas, will dip below freezing before 8 p.m. CT, with wind chills in the 20s and teens. To the north, it's even colder. Oklahoma City has already plummeted into the teens, with feels-like temperatures in the single digits.

This is the most potent cold blast of the winter season for millions, and it will continue to move south and east across the Southeast U.S.

Snow totals over 10 inches have been reported in the southwest parts of the Kansas City metro area. The video sent to us by Kristen Lester shows the snow piling up against a window.

Chapman, Kans. has the region's highest snowfall totals as of this update, with about 18 inches already on the ground. Other cities along I-70 have also seen 10+ inches of snow, including Salina, Manhattan, and Topeka, Kans.

School districts, including all Philadelphia and Washington D.C. Public Schools, will be closed on Monday. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a snow emergency for the city ahead of the storm. Below are the latest forecast snowfall totals for various metropolitan cities across the East Coast:

Storm conditions will improve behind this system, but timing will depend on location and how far east you are. For example, Kansas City remains under a blizzard warning until midnight CT Monday, but conditions should gradually improve this evening and overnight.

Meanwhile, Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, will have snow and ice accumulation peaking in the evening or overnight hours, with conditions improving on Monday. While a secondary snow burst is expected in Louisville on Monday afternoon, conditions across all areas should gradually stabilize by Monday night.

Residents further east across the Mid-Atlantic will have a little longer as the storm has just begun to affect these areas. You can track the system live on the WeatherRadar and see how this storm will impact your Monday morning commute.

The storm is beginning to stretch into the Mid-Atlantic, with snow showing up in Richmond on the WeatherRadar.

Further west, heavy ice continues to fall in Louisville, Kent., and Evansville, Ind. States of emergency have been declared all the way through Washington D.C. and schools are already being closed on Monday in anticipation of the ongoing major storm.

A radar-confirmed tornado has already touched down in southeast Arkansas in Lincoln County, with more tornado reports in northeast Louisiana as the strong storm line races east.

Additionally, severe wind reports have come in from northeast Texas through northern Louisiana due to multiple trees being down. Power outages are increasing across the Deep South as the storms move through.

The latest tornado watch has been issued for the Deep South and extends into Mississippi. Keep a close eye on the WeatherRadar for the latest look at the strong line of storms.

Power outage numbers are growing in Missouri as ice and snow continue to pile up. To the East, snow, rain and ice are pushing into West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Conditions will continue to deteriorate.

Additionally, a tornado watch has been issued for the Deep South as the cold front sweeps through. Have at least 3 ways to receive weather warnings and know that mobile and manufactured homes are not safe to take shelter in. Please find a sturdy structure and get to the center part of it, away from windows, to hunker down if a tornado threatens your area.

We're live now! Watch the live forecast with Meteorologist Becca Parker below.

Those under the severe weather risk will want to keep a close eye on the sky. Thunderstorms are already moving east with plentiful lightning. Tornadoes, large hail and gusty winds will all be part of the severe weather risk. Jave at least three ways to receive a weather warning.

Several thousand customers are already without power across Missouri with more expected as the storm races east. More than a foot of snow could fall with up to an inch of ice in many spots, knocking out more power lines and weighing down large branches.

Read the latest forecast update here!

Thunderstorms, thundersnow and thunder ice!

The WeatherRadar shows wintry weather, as ice and snow, is extending from the Front Range to the lower Ohio Valley with thunderstorms pulling up the southern flank from northeast Texas to Springfield, Mo. Additionally, heavy rainfall is keeping many indoors from the Tennessee Valley to New Orleans.

More widespread precipitation is expected throughout the day as this storm evolves. Winter storm warnings, blizzard warnings, winter weather advisories and wind advisories from the National Weather Service paint the map.

On the southern flank, severe weather is expected and an enhanced risk - level three out of five on the severity scale - has been issued including Alexandria, La., and Greenville and Jackson, Miss. More than one million people are under a scattered tornado threat as this storm slides east. Are your alerts switched on?