'Arctic siege': US winter storm brings frigid temperatures, cuts energy to tons of of 1000's

[ad_1] A large winter storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow throughout a lot of the US on Sunday, bringing subzero temperatures and paralyzing air and street visitors. Energy strains had been draped in ice, and tons of of 1000's of individuals within the Southeast had been left with out electrical energy.

The ice and snowfall had been anticipated to proceed into Monday in a lot of the nation, adopted by very low temperatures, which may trigger “harmful journey and infrastructure impacts” to linger for a number of days, the Nationwide Climate Service mentioned.

Heavy snow was forecast from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, whereas “catastrophic ice accumulation” threatened from the Decrease Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

“It's a distinctive storm within the sense that it's so widespread,” climate service meteorologist Allison Santorelli mentioned in a cellphone interview. “It was affecting areas all the way in which from New Mexico, Texas, all the way in which into New England, so we’re speaking like a 2,000 mile unfold.”

President Donald Trump had permitted emergency declarations for not less than a dozen states by Saturday, with extra anticipated to come back. The Federal Emergency Administration Company pre-positioned commodities, workers and search and rescue groups in quite a few states, Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul mentioned the state was bracing for the longest chilly stretch and highest snow totals it has seen in years. Communities close to the Canadian border have already seen record-breaking subzero temperatures, with Watertown registering minus 34 levels Fahrenheit (minus 37 levels Celsius) and Copenhagen minus 49 F (minus 45 C), she mentioned.

“An Arctic siege has taken over our state,” Hochul mentioned. “It's brutal, it's bone chilling and it's harmful.”

Folks use cross-country skis and snowshoes in entrance of the Washington Monument within the US capital on January 25, 2026. © Elizabeth Frantz, Reuters As of Sunday morning, about 213 million folks had been underneath some kind of winter climate warning, Santorelli mentioned. The variety of clients with out energy topped 900,000, in response to poweroutage.us, and the quantity was rising.

Tennessee was hardest hit with almost 325,000 clients out, and Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi all had greater than 100,000 clients at the hours of darkness. Tens of 1000's of properties and companies had been with out energy in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and West Virginia.

Some 11,000 flights had already been canceled Sunday and greater than 13,000 have been delayed, in response to the flight tracker flightaware.com. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey had been hit particularly onerous.

At Philadelphia Worldwide Airport, inside shows registered scores of canceled flights and few autos could possibly be seen arriving Sunday morning. At Reagan Nationwide in Washington, just about all flights had been canceled.

Even as soon as the ice and snow cease falling, the hazard will proceed, Santorelli warned.

“Behind the storm it’s simply going to get bitterly chilly throughout mainly the whole lot of the jap two-thirds of the nation, east of the Rockies,” she mentioned. Which means the ice and snow received’t soften as quick, which may hinder some efforts to revive energy and different infrastructure.

Faculties shut in New York Alongside the Gulf Coast, temperatures had been balmy Sunday, hitting the excessive 60s and low 70s, however thermometers had been anticipated to drop into the excessive 20s and low 30s there by Monday morning. The Nationwide Climate Service warned of damaging winds and a slight danger of extreme storms and presumably even a quick twister.

In New York Metropolis, Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned not less than 5 folks died as temperatures plunged Saturday earlier than the snows arrived in earnest.

“Whereas it’s nonetheless too early to find out the causes of demise, it's a reminder that yearly New Yorkers succumb to the chilly,” he wrote on X.

The Democrat additionally introduced that Monday can be a distant studying day for college students within the nation’s largest faculty system. Different officers throughout the affected areas additionally introduced that faculty can be canceled or held remotely Monday.

In Corinth, Mississippi, the place energy outages had been widespread, Caterpillar instructed staff at its remanufacturing web site to remain dwelling Monday and Tuesday.

“Might God have mercy on Corinth, MS! ... The sound of the bushes snapping, exploding & falling by the night time have been unnerving to say the least,” resident Kathy Ragan mentioned on Fb.

College of Georgia sophomore Eden England mentioned there was a skinny layer of ice on the bottom of the campus in Athens and a mist fell as she walked with associates from the campus eating corridor to her residence corridor.

“It's undoubtedly a bit abandoned however loads of folks selected to remain on campus,” England mentioned.

Nashville and the encompassing space was seeing ice accumulations of half an inch or extra, with icicles hanging from energy strains and overburdened tree limbs crashing to the bottom.

In Oxford, Mississippi, police on Sunday morning used social media to inform residents to remain dwelling because the hazard of being exterior was too nice. Native utility crews had been additionally pulled from their jobs in the course of the in a single day hours.

“Attributable to life-threatening circumstances, Oxford Utilities has made the tough choice to tug our crews off the street for the night time,” the utility firm posted on Fb early Sunday. “Timber are actively snapping and falling round our linemen whereas they're within the bucket vehicles."

Tippah Electrical Energy in Mississippi mentioned there was “catastrophic harm” and that it could possibly be “weeks as an alternative of days” to revive everybody.

The Tennessee Valley Authority offers energy to some utilities throughout the area, and spokesperson Scott Brooks mentioned the majority energy system stays steady however in a single day icing had prompted energy interruptions in north Mississippi, north Alabama, southern center Tennessee and the Knoxville, Tennessee, space.

Icy roads made journey harmful in north Georgia, the place the Cherokee County Sheriff’s workplace posted on Fb, “ it’s dangerous when Waffle Home is closed!!!” together with a photograph of a shuttered restaurant. Whether or not the chain’s eating places are open – often known as the Waffle Home Index – has change into a casual strategy to gauge the severity of climate disasters throughout the South.