A massive storm packing heavy snowfalls, treacherous ice and severe weather unleashed its fury across more than a dozen states over the weekend, and may cause "highway chaos" in the central parts of the US on Monday, meteorologists warned.

The National Weather Service predicted about 20 to 30 centimeters of snow for the Annapolis, Maryland, area.

In a statement on X, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm and encouraged residents to vote before the state’s special elections on Tuesday.

Similar declarations were issued in Kansas, Maryland, West Virginia and in central Illinois cities.

Parts of upstate New York saw one meter or more of snow from a lake effect event until late Sunday afternoon.

In Kentucky, Louisville recorded 19.5 centimeters of snow on Sunday, a new record for the date that shattered the previous mark of 7.6 centimeters set in 1910.

Lexington, Kentucky, also set a snowfall record, with 12.7 centimeters.

The storm was forecast to move into the Ohio Valley and reach the Mid-Atlantic states later Sunday and Monday, with a hard freeze expected as far south as Florida.

Virginia State Police reported at least 135 car crashes as the storm entered the state Sunday. A handful of injuries were reported.

In Charleston, West Virginia, where several inches of snow had fallen by Sunday night, authorities urged motorists to stay home.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were responding to crashes and 911 calls countywide. “Please be patient if you have called 911 for assistance. A deputy will call you or respond to you as soon as possible,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

In Indiana, snow fully covered portions numerous roads and highways prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

Roughly 25 centimeters of snow had fallen in parts of Kansas, with snow and sleet totals predicted to top 36 centimeter for parts of that state and northern Missouri.

Meanwhile damaging winds brought down trees across the Deep South. The weather service issued tornado warnings Sunday in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The storms caused havoc for the nation’s passenger railways. More than 20 cancellations were planned on Sunday, 40 for Monday and at least two for Tuesday.

“If local authorities are telling people not to travel, it’s counterintuitive to try to run a full slate of services when people are being told to stay home,” Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said.

The Midwest was hit especially hard. A train between Chicago and New York and several regional trains between Chicago and St. Louis were among those canceled Sunday.

Nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled, according to tracking platform FlightAware.

Starting Monday, the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said.

Residents of Takhtapul district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province say they are struggling to survive amid an ongoing drought that has devastated their crops.

This rural community mainly relies on agriculture to survive but climate change has virtually ended any hopes of farming.

Afghanistan has experienced three consecutive years of drought, including the most devastating drought in 30 years in 2021 and 2022.

Climate experts predict that by 2050, 90% of its territory will be affected by drought.

Afghanistan is one of the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change. It's also ranked fourth in overall disaster risk.

Takhtapul residents have spoken out about their plight and said they have sustained extensive losses due to the drought

They said in the past they had made a living off farming, but now due to the severe lack of water, their land has become barren.

They also said this is forcing their youth and younger generation to find work in other provinces or outside the country.

Abdullah, a resident of Takhtapul district of Kandahar, said: "Our youths have gone to Pakistan and other provinces in search of work due to unemployment and drought. There they have wheelbarrows [for day labourer work] or they do other jobs."

On the other hand, local officials say that they are trying to reduce unemployment by launching development projects in this district.

Along with droughts and lack of work for young people, the breakdown of roads, lack of health centers and lack of suitable places for education are among the problems that the residents of this district want to solve.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a €15 million (US$15.8 million) contribution from the European Union (EU) for its climate related activities in Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued by the EU on Thursday, this contribution will help local communities prepare for natural disasters and face the devastating effects of climate change, and support farmers for more productive and sustainable agriculture.

So far this year, more than 160,000 people have been affected by flooding in Afghanistan. Floods have destroyed almost 20,000 homes, and thousands of hectares of agricultural land.

“The European Union is committed to assisting the people of Afghanistan in adapting to climate change, which is severely threatening food security and livelihoods notably of rural communities, said the EU Chargée d’Affaires to in Afghanistan, Veronika Boskovic Pohar.

“Climate-related shocks also exacerbate host communities’ capacity to support internally displaced people and returnees from neighboring countries, and they discourage farmers in poppy-cultivating areas from sustainably shifting to licit crops.

“This latest contribution increases the European Union’s steady support to WFP’s resilience programme in Afghanistan to a total EUR 85.1 million since 2022”, she said.

Harald Mannhardt, WFP Deputy Country Director in Afghanistan, said: “This latest funding from the European Union comes at a critical moment as WFP earlier this year was forced to halt projects across the country due to a massive funding shortfall.”

Afghanistan is currently ranked seventh on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index of countries most vulnerable and least prepared to adapt to climate change.