MORE states placed under severe weather warnings as ice storms make travel 'nearly impossible'

A unsafe crystal tempest is spreading crossed the bluish US, creating hazardous question conditions and powerfulness outage risks done Thursday.

Winter tempest Freya has already deed parts of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

However, Ohio done Pennsylvania, eastbound West Virginia, occidental Maryland and northwestern Virginia are predicted to spot the worst upwind with important crystal accumulations of up to fractional an inch.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that 'travel could beryllium astir impossible' successful those regions and that residents should beryllium prepared for powerfulness outages and histrion harm from the ice.

AccuWeather elder meteorologist Marshall Moss said that 'freezing rainfall is the astir dangerous precipitation for travel, determination is nary traction astatine each connected it.'

He added that 'ice patches are clear, making it pugnacious for drivers to archer if roads are icy oregon conscionable wet.'

The crystal storm is expected to proceed passim the time and modulation to rainfall by 12pm ET erstwhile temperatures scope the precocious 30s. Meteorologists said determination should beryllium 'no question concerns' astir that time.

The icy conditions person besides delayed much than 18 flights and canceled 150, according to FlightAware.

More than 100 flights person been cancelled astatine Philadelphia International Airport alone,  and dozens of delays and cancellations are being issued at Reagan National Airport successful Arlington, Virginia. 

Schools crossed the Midwest and Northeast person closed oregon delayed starts contiguous owed to the storm, the Weather Channel reported. 

That includes hundreds of schools successful the Detroit metro area, aggregate districts successful New York and New Jersey, and immoderate schools successful Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.  

Winter Storm Freya is presently spreading snowfall and crystal passim the Appalachians and Northeast.

Snow and sleet are accumulating successful New York and New Jersey. As of 7am ET, fractional an inch had piled up successful New York City's Central Park and successful Newark, New Jersey. 

Much of the Tri-State country volition stay nether upwind advisories until 1pm ET today, 

Wintry precipitation could marque for treacherous greeting commutes on Interstate 95 from Baltimore, Maryland to Boston, Massachusetts this morning.

As of 9am ET Thursday, much than 55,000 outages were reported successful Virginia, arsenic good arsenic implicit 15,000 successful West Virginia and 12,000 successful Ohio, according to poweroutage.us. 

Most of this crystal began piling up successful parts of Pennsylvania to eastbound West Virginia, Maryland and northwestern Virginia morning, making for unsafe greeting commutes on Interstates 76, 80, 81 and 90.

Road closures were enactment successful spot crossed overmuch of Pennsylvania. 

In West Virginia, thunderstorms and torrential rainfall person triggered 'life threatening' flash flooding. 

Officials successful respective communities person told residents to question higher crushed arsenic the h2o continues to rise, FOX Weather reported. 

The NWS has issued flash flood exigency warnings successful parts of the state, including the cities of Charleston and Huntington. 

Water rescues person been reported successful those areas this morning, and aggregate districts person closed their schools oregon delayed starts today.

Quarter-sized hail battered Kentucky overnight, with radical reporting lightning flashes arsenic well.

A tornado ticker volition stay successful effect for the south-central and eastbound parts of the authorities until 11am ET, and determination person already been societal media reports of imaginable tornado sightings successful the municipality of Mundfordville.

By the precocious afternoon, the storm's interaction volition grow northeastward into New England, allowing precipitation to taper disconnected and temperatures to emergence supra freezing successful states further south. 

However, gusty winds volition way adjacent down Freya arsenic this tempest moves retired of the departs the Great Lakes today, with winds upwards of 40 mph picking up from Wisconsin to Michigan, according to AccuWeather. 

New England states tin expect a fewer inches of snowfall to autumn into the evening earlier the tempest moves offshore precocious contiguous and precocious winds determination into the region.

On Friday, winds are expected to highest astatine precocious elevations successful the Laurel Highlands and bluish areas of Pennsylvania earlier ramping up crossed the Green and White Mountains successful Vermont and New Hampshire.

AccuWeather predicts maximum gusts of up to 65 mph Thursday into Friday.

The winds should dice down heading into the weekend, but not for long. Yet different named tempest is pursuing adjacent down Freya, and it's connected way to deed the aforesaid regions.