Deep freeze moves across US as 63 million people face bone-chilling temps and major snowfall

Up to 63 million Americans have been warned to brace for chaos amid mass school closures and state of emergency declarations as Snow Storm Blair moves east.

Parts of Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas are already under blizzard warnings amid concerns Storm Blair will be the coldest since 2011.

The worst hit states have already endured 150,000 power outages with predictions that more will follow.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told residents to brace for 'dangerous conditions on our roads' and noted the storm 'could cause significant power outages – just 24 hours before it gets dangerously cold.'

All Philadelphia public schools and government offices are closed on Monday, Mayor Cherelle Parker's office announced. 

Districts in Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky also began announcing cancellations and delays on Sunday afternoon. 

Seven states have announced full or partial states of emergency.  

In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency for several southern counties, including Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem.

Many non-emergency federal workers in Washington D.C. have been told to stay home Monday. All Smithsonian museums in the area will also be closed tomorrow, including the National Zoo. 

The storm is expected to bring as much as 15 inches of snow to parts of the Central Plains, along with icy blizzard conditions and dangerous winds as it makes its way to the mid-Atlantic with bone-chilling temperatures. 

Travel across the country has also been stalled as nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled, according to tracking platform FlightAware.

Ice and snow have blanketed major roads across Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state's National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. 

At least eight inches of snow is expected, along with gusting winds up to 45 mph. 

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri all the way to the Garden State. 

'For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,' the weather service said.

Missouri has already been hit with snow as the National Weather Service office in Kansas City warned residents to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. 

'You may not even be able to get there if you wanted to,' the service said. 'Stay home, stay warm, and stay safe.' 

Over the weekend, at least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri, authorities said. Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit. 

Virginia State Police reported at least 135 crashes as the storm entered the state Sunday. In Charleston, West Virginia, where several inches of snow had fallen by Sunday night, authorities urged motorists to stay home.

In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads as plows worked to keep up.

'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.

Kentucky Gov. Beshear, who also declared a state emergency, said government buildings would be closed Monday in an effort to keep people at home.

'We see far too many wrecks out there for people that do not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside,' he said.

So far, about 10 inches of snow has fallen in Kansas, with eventual totals predicted to top 14 inches for parts of the state and northern Missouri. 

Louisville, Kentucky recorded 7.7 inches of snow on Sunday - a new record for the date that shattered the previous mark of 3 inches set in 1910.

Parts of Kansas City have registered a foot of snow in the last 24 hours, with an estimated 14 inches expected to touch down before the storm is over. 

'This is going to be one of the most historic, significant storms that Kansas City has ever seen,' City Manager Brian Platt said. 

The last time the area saw more than 10 inches of snow was in February 1993, Platt shared. 

'We started pretreating our roads Friday, 36 hours in advance of any snowfall or ice, just to make sure that we were as prepared as we possibly could,' he said, adding that the city has been 'very aggressive with this.' 

Frigid temperatures are expected to hit as far as Florida, as one social media user shared unbelievable scenes of snow covering her neighborhood in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina - about 30 minutes outside of Raleigh. 

'Winter Storm Blair did not disappoint! 7ish inches of snow and some freezing rain,' they wrote alongside videos of snow covering their car, icicles hanging from their patio lights, and their dog playing in the snow. 

A power company in Kentucky also took to Facebook to update and warn their customers on the treacherous storm. 

'Winter Storm Blair Update: This storm system continues through our service area this evening, dropping heavy snow in Pikeville and Ashland and a thunderstorm in Hazard that's just turned back into heavy snow,' Kentucky Power wrote.

They posted an image of a light pole nearly covered in snow, as they warned customers that many have already lost power, 'several which have already been restored.' 

While the snow storm is expected to be dangerous for travel and work, others across the nation have taken advantage of the winter weather.