National Weather Service Issues Winter Weather Alerts for 32 States

Nearly 80 million Americans throughout the country are on alert for winter storms this week, ABC News reported.

As of Wednesday, the National Weather Service had issued alerts for heavy snow, freezing temperatures, and strong winds in 32 states, including New York.

The Northwest and Midwest are experiencing heavy rain, winds and up to three feet of snow; the storm is expected to reach the East Coast by Friday. It would bring even more snow to Interstate 95, one of the most heavily traveled routes in the country.

According to ABC 7, there were multiple crashes reported in the tri-state region reported Wednesday, with at least two deaths reported. The accidents occurred as freezing rain pounds the region, causing traffic and delaying flights.

One of the fatalities occurred on Route 3 in East Rutherford, and the second occurred between the eastbound Cross County Parkway and the northbound Bronx River Parkway in Westchester County.

On Monday afternoon, after an accident involving six tractor-trailers due to poor weather conditions and icy roads, there was a massive, miles-long traffic jam on Interstate 95 in Virginia. It lasted overnight, trapping people in their cars for more than 24 hours along the 48-mile traffic corridor.

It took Virginia Senator Tim Kaine 26 hours and 45 minutes to travel from his home to the Capitol. He had only an orange and one soda and listened to the radio to stay awake. “I was freezing,” Kaine told ABC News. “It was about 11 or 12 degrees last night and you can’t just run the car all night long sitting still or you run out of gas, which you need for the next morning, so you kind of have to run the car for 10 minutes to heat it up then turn it off for an hour and then it gets cold again.”

The Virginia corridor reopened on Tuesday night.