The National Weather Service says severe thunderstorms will bring damaging winds, hail, and the possibility of tornadoes this afternoon.
Forecasters predict multiple waves of storms starting this afternoon through the early evening.
Bitter cold will follow, with temperatures dropping into the low 30s overnight.
Severe weather is forecast to hit much of the east coast. Forecasters said mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., were at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes. The cold front was expected to move off the East Coast by Tuesday, bringing sharply colder weather in its wake, forecasters said.
Forecasters warn about line of storms, tornadoes
The National Weather Service that warned a line of severe storms with damaging winds would cross much of the Eastern U.S. After firing up Sunday, the storms were crossing the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys.
The storm threat was expected to enter the Appalachians, then move toward the East Coast, where “severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes” were expected, the service said.
A stretch from parts of South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to experience the greatest damaging winds Monday afternoon, the weather service said. That could include Raleigh, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and the nation’s capital.
Officials said schools in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, would be closed Monday. Gov. Josh Stein urged residents to enable emergency alerts on their phones ahead of expected wind gusts of 74 mph (119 kph).
Beyond the threat to lives and property, “whether it’s wind gusts from a squall line, blizzard or snow, or just wind because of the storm, you’re looking at several major airports being impacted,“ said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys.