More than 670,000 customers in the United States, stretching as far west as New Mexico, were left without electricity as a massive winter storm prepared to sweep across the eastern two-thirds of the country. Nearly 10,000 flights were cancelled ahead of the storm, raising fears of widespread disruption to travel and daily life.
Forecasters warned of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and dangerously low temperatures that could persist into next week. The National Weather Service said the storm is unusually expansive and long-lasting, with heavy ice accumulation expected in the Southeast, where “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts” could occur. Wind chills in parts of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest were predicted to fall below minus 45 degrees Celsius, conditions capable of causing frostbite within minutes.
President Donald Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia. In a post on Truth Social, he urged residents to stay safe and warm while authorities coordinate response efforts.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem advised Americans to stock up on fuel and food and emphasized that utility crews were working to restore power as quickly as possible. “It’s going to be very, very cold,” she said.
The Department of Energy issued emergency orders allowing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generation at data centres and other critical facilities. PJM Interconnection, which manages power in the mid-Atlantic region, was authorised to operate specified resources regardless of state limits or environmental permits.
Power outages continued to rise. As of 7:23 a.m. EST, over 500,000 households were without electricity, including more than 100,000 each in Mississippi, Texas, and Tennessee. Other states affected included Louisiana and New Mexico. Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations cover the world’s largest collection of data centres, warned that the storm could be one of the largest ice events in its history.
Air travel was heavily disrupted. Flight tracking website FlightAware reported more than 9,600 cancellations today, with over 4,000 flights cancelled on the previous day. Major airlines warned passengers to expect sudden schedule changes.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged residents to remain indoors, warning that brief exposure to the cold could be life-threatening. She reminded citizens to take precautions such as safeguarding pipes, using heaters safely, and checking on vulnerable neighbors.
Officials cautioned that the effects of the storm could linger for a week, particularly in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Residents were urged to prepare for extreme cold, limited mobility, and potential power disruptions. The combination of ice, snow, and frigid temperatures has made this winter event one of the most severe in recent US history.
