East is expecting ‘messy’ storm

A winter storm marched toward the East Coast on Sunday night, prompting airlines to cancel 1,500 Monday flights preemptively and the federal government to announce that its Washington offices would be closed.

The District of Columbia, where 6 to 10 inches of sleet and snow were forecast, also decided to close its government offices on the first day of the workweek.

Part of the massive moisture moving east comes from the rainstorms that drenched Southern California last week and over the weekend, said James LaRosa, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Nashville. “Probably the best word to describe it is ‘messy,’ ” he said.

Storms and the threat of storms evoked dread. In Mississippi, where up to three-quarters of an inch of ice and possible tornadoes were forecast overnight, Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency. The governors of New Jersey and Delaware, facing heavy snows, also declared states of emergency.

Airlines canceled more than 1,900 U.S. flights Sunday, according to Flight- Aware.com, and delayed thousands more.

Church services across Oklahoma were canceled because of rain and sleet.

But not all the cold weather was icy or snowy.

In Chicago, where temperatures hovered close to single digits Sunday morning, “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon walked into Lake Michigan wearing a suit and tie -- possibly the best-dressed participant in the Polar Plunge.

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