Over 60 million Americans under heavy snow, blizzard, ice alerts as winter storms slam Midwest

As a deep winter chill begins to take over the northern half of the country, blizzard warnings were issued in three states -- harbingers of another major winter storm.

Around 60 million Americans in 18 states, from the Dakotas to Delaware, were under winter weather alerts as of Sunday afternoon, with many expecting the storm to linger until Monday, spreading from Kansas to the East Coast.

By Monday morning, millions will be seeing snow falling, from St. Louis and Washington, D.C., to the entire states of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Even New York City may have light snow or flurries early Monday.

Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms are forecast to start rolling through North Carolina, from Charlotte and Asheville, and they may pass into Athens, Georgia, on Monday morning.

Blizzard warnings were in effect Sunday for parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, including Kansas City, as the massive storm was ramping up. Winter storm warnings extend to the mid-Atlantic, with cities including Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Virginia, facing significant travel impacts by Monday morning.

Snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are expected across the cities of Washington and Baltimore. Up to 18 inches of snow is possible in the Appalachian regions of eastern Maryland and West Virginia.

Southern Ohio, including Cincinnati, is expected to get 6 to 10 inches of snow and a glaze of ice. Pittsburgh is forecast to get 3 to 5 inches of snow, and Philadelphia could see 2 to 4 inches of snow and southern New Jersey could get up to 8 inches.

An ongoing lake-effect snow event has dumped 3 feet or more of snow on parts of upstate New York and continues for places near and north of Utica.

The storm follows Interstate 70 to St. Louis, where heavy snow and ice may strike through Sunday.

A number of cities from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic were confronting hazardous travel on Sunday as the ice and snow moved east, causing numerous spinouts on roadways and freeways.

Roads in Nebraska and Kansas became icy throughout Saturday, and snow was forecast to fall on top of that Sunday.

As of 5:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, airlines had canceled at least 1,510 flights within, into or out of the U.S., according to flight tracker FlightAware. About 836 flights have been cancelled for Monday as the storm moves toward the Northeast.

The Kansas City International Airport temporarily closed its airfield Saturday afternoon due to ice accumulation.

The airport reported that roughly 72% of its departure flights had been canceled. Several airlines were beginning to cancel flights for Monday.

Power outages can be expected where ice and snow are greatest.

In addition, damaging winds and tornadoes, along with some hail, are possible in Louisiana, Mississippi and southern Arkansas. Tornado watches are in effect for parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas until 9 p.m. CT on Sunday.

A portion of the polar vortex will likely trigger temperatures 10 to 25 degrees below normal for the eastern half of the U.S. by the middle of next week.

A blast of Arctic air is also expected to set in and be a stronghold from the Midwest to the East for the remainder of the week.

Kansas City, Missouri, could dip into the negative teens on Tuesday morning. Potentially sub-zero wind chills will be felt Thursday morning in Washington, D.C..

Even Dallas, Texas, will feel like the teens early this week. Sub-freezing temperatures are also forecast as far south as Florida.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency late Friday before the storm's expected arrival.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also declared a state of emergency on Saturday and began to open warming centers throughout the state. The governor said there was concern over power loss because of the ice and snow accumulation on trees.

"If we lose power, beginning on Tuesday, especially for some of our most vulnerable Kentuckians, it's going to get cold enough to where you may well need one of these warming centers," he said.

"If you find yourself needing to be on the roadways, please heed any warnings and make sure you are keeping yourselves and others safe," the governor added. "Our pre-treating preparations are underway, and substantial state and local resources will continue to actively monitor the forecast and respond through the weekend."

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a state of preparedness on Saturday evening in preparation for the storm.

"Maryland, avoid travel if possible, follow local forecasts, and stay prepared for winter storm hazards," Moore said in a statement.

Additionally, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser held a press conference Sunday evening along with local government officials to declare a snow emergency for the nation's capital

"This will cause slow and dangerous travel late tonight and all day tomorrow, and we ask that you stay off the road where possible," said Clint Osborne, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, advised during Sunday's press conference with Bowser.

"Just as importantly, we're also going to experience dangerously low temperatures until the end of this week," he added.

Bowser specifically noted that the week's upcoming events would continue as planned.

"We have been talking for many weeks about the national special security events happening in the District. This week, we will have two: the counting and certification of the 2024 presidential election will occur during the joint session of Congress tomorrow, and the state funeral for President Jimmy Carter will happen from Tuesday through Thursday," she said, before asking the public to "pay attention to closures related to those events" even though "we expect that they will happen as planned, and we will support the federal government in all of their efforts with that."

ABC News' Kenton Gewecke and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.