“Historical storm”. Over 60 million Americans on alert

A snowstorm, which American forecasters named Blair, hit parts of the US over the weekend. More than 60 million Americans in more than 30 states face winter hazards.

“For some, this could be the heaviest snowfall in more than a decade,” warned the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration's (NOAA) Weather Prediction Center.

States of emergency have been declared in Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas and parts of New Jersey.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) issued blizzard warning messages to millions of people. They affect parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. It is also dangerous to travel on Kentucky and Indiana roads.

According to FlightAware, an air traffic tracking website, over 1,500 flights were canceled on Sunday and over two thousand were delayed, the BBC reported. She added that the biggest disruptions occurred at Kansas City International Airport, where 86 percent of flights were canceled.

The mayor of Philadelphia announced that all public schools and offices will be closed on Monday due to severe weather. Schools in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Washington and Virginia have already been closed.

Kansas and Missouri are expected to be most affected by the snowstorm. More than 25 centimeters of snow had already fallen in these states by Sunday afternoon.

Winter weather forced all highway closures in northeastern Kansas. – It's historic storm – Brian Platt, representative of Kansas City, told NBC News. – We haven't seen snowfall like this for 32 years – he added.

Up to a foot of snow could fall in some parts of Virginia. According to electricity distributor Poweroutage.US, about 80,000 customers in the South and Midwest were without power on Sunday. About 30 thousand of them are in Missouri, 18 thousand. in Texas, and over 10.5 thousand in Louisiana, Kentucky and Illinois.