US gripped by severe winter storm with snow, ice and plunging temperatures – latest news
Severe storms grip US as snow, ice and deep freeze spreadGood morning and welcome to the US weather blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.The US is enduring another bout of severe winter weather, as a succession of powerful weather systems brings heavy snow, freezing rain and extreme cold temperatures to much of the country.Twenty-six states, from Texas to Massachusetts, were under storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service over the weekend, with many alerts remaining in place this week.Heavy snow began falling in parts of north Texas and Oklahoma on Friday evening before pushing eastwards. By Sunday, swathes of the central and eastern US were experiencing either heavy snow or freezing rain, causing widespread travel disruption.In parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, about 2.5cm (1in) of ice coated cars, roads and trees and brought down power lines. Snow and freezing rain continued to track north-east into cities including New York and Philadelphia, where some areas recorded 30-50cm of snowfall.Power outages are expected to last several days in some regions, with more than 800,000 households without electricity as of Sunday night. At least seven deaths have been linked to the extreme conditions. Widespread intense cold is now spreading southwards, with lows of -20C in parts of Texas.Forecasters have also warned of an unusual hazard associated with the deep freeze: “exploding” trees. Rapid freezing causes water and tree sap to expand inside tree trunks, sometimes producing loud cracking or explosive sounds as wood and bark split under pressure.Read more from our latest weather tracker here:ShareUpdated at 13.46 CETKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureMayor declares state of emergency in city of Pittsburgh - reportA state of emergency has been declared in Pittsburgh by mayor Corey O’Connor due to the snowstorm, according to reports.Ricky Sayer, of KDKA, posted on X:
Mayor Corey O’Connor has declared a state of emergency in the city of Pittsburgh due to the snowstorm.
ShareThree deaths in Kentucky are being investigated to determine if they were caused by the winter storm, it has been reported.Paul Miles, of the Kentucky News Network, said on social media that governor Andy Beshear confirmed the investigations.ShareFlights have resumed at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, it has been confirmed.An update at 8.30am local time said that lingering delays and cancellations may continue to be an issue but the main runway reopened last night.The Metrorail is also open and running weekend-frequency services.View image in fullscreenSnow is cleared at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Monday morning, Jan. 26, 2026, in Arlington, Va. Photograph: Julia Nikhinson/APShareHere are some photos that show just how severe the snow storm has been in New York:View image in fullscreenThe Empire State Building and midtown Manhattan in New York are seen while workers remove snow, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, as it is seen from Hoboken New Jersey, U.S., January 26, 2026. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/ReutersView image in fullscreenMorning commuter traffic drives through the snow, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/ReutersView image in fullscreenA man walks in the road with a shovel, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., January 26, 2026. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/ReutersShareFreezing rain that coated roads and brought trees and branches down on power lines was the main peril in the South over the weekend. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees at its site to stay home today and tomorrow.It already was Mississippi’s worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals — 200,000 gallons (750,000 liters) — plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Governor Tate Reeves said at a press conference on Sunday.He urged people not to drive anywhere unless absolutely necessary. “Do please reach out to friends and family,” Reeves added.ShareTemperatures dipped as low as -40 Fahrenheit (-40C) in parts of Minnesota on Sunday. Many communities across the Midwest, South, and Northeast awakened Monday to subzero weather. The entire Lower 48 states were forecast to have their coldest average low temperature of -9.8F (-12.3C) — since January 2014.Record warmth in Florida was the only thing keeping that average from going even colder, said former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue, who calculates national averages based on National Weather Service data.ShareCalling the storms “historic”, Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia, allowing access to assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).“We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.However, just two days earlier he had used reports of the impending storm to cast doubt on climate change. Trump, posted of the storm on Truth Social: “Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain – WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???”ShareThe number of flight cancellations and delays is expected to rise throughout the day.Low pressure south of New England is expected to move east over the Atlantic on Monday, bringing heavy snow to parts of the Northeast and freezing rain across sections of the Mid-Atlantic, the US National Weather Service said.Snow is also expected along the Appalachian region, while rain will spread along the Southeast coast as a cold front moves offshore, the agency said.American Airlines accounted for the largest share of disruptions on Monday, with over 600 flights canceled and about 135 delayed, followed by Republic Airways, JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines.ShareFlight cancellations continue on MondayAbout 3,800 flights were canceled and over 1,000 were delayed as of early Monday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, following more than 11,000 cancellations reported on Sunday.View image in fullscreenRonald Reagan airport in Washington on Sunday Photograph: Mehmet Eser/SOPA Images/ShutterstockShareThe PowerOutage.com tracking site showed more than 820,000 customers without electricity as of Monday, mostly in the US south where the storm intensified on Saturday.In Tennessee, where a band of ice has downed power lines, more than 250,000 residential and commercial customers were without electricity, while Louisiana and Mississippi – where such storms are less common – each had over 100,000 outages as of Monday.The outages are particularly dangerous as the South is being walloped by treacherous cold that the National Weather Service warns could set records.Authorities from Texas to North Carolina and New York urged residents to stay home due to the perilous conditions.ShareA storm barreling across the United States had killed at least 11 people on Monday, prompting warnings to stay off the roads, mass flight cancelations and power outages after a weekend of misery.The storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain across swathes of the country from Texas to New England, with temperatures set to fall dangerously low this week.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said five people were found dead outside over the weekend, telling reporters “there is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold.”ShareTens of millions of Americans hunkered down on Monday or ventured out to help neighbors under bitter cold, blizzards of snow and lashings of freezing rain from a huge winter storm that paralyzed the eastern United States.From New York and Massachusetts in the northeast to Texas and North Carolina in the south, roads were frozen slick with ice and buried under often more than a foot of snow, Reuters reported.In some southern states, residents faced winter conditions unseen in those areas for decades, with inch-thick ice coating branches, bringing down trees and power lines.Flights were canceled, schools were shut and volunteers staffed emergency shelters to provide warmth for the needy and homeless.“I just saw a need for getting people out of the cold,” said Ryan DuVal, who owns a vintage firetruck and was driving it through the frozen streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma, looking for people who needed help.“You know, just cruise the streets, see someone, offer a ride. If they take it, great. If not, I can at least warm them up in the truck and just get them a water, meal, something. And it’s just giving back to the community like everybody should do.“ShareSevere storms grip US as snow, ice and deep freeze spreadGood morning and welcome to the US weather blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.The US is enduring another bout of severe winter weather, as a succession of powerful weather systems brings heavy snow, freezing rain and extreme cold temperatures to much of the country.Twenty-six states, from Texas to Massachusetts, were under storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service over the weekend, with many alerts remaining in place this week.Heavy snow began falling in parts of north Texas and Oklahoma on Friday evening before pushing eastwards. By Sunday, swathes of the central and eastern US were experiencing either heavy snow or freezing rain, causing widespread travel disruption.In parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, about 2.5cm (1in) of ice coated cars, roads and trees and brought down power lines. Snow and freezing rain continued to track north-east into cities including New York and Philadelphia, where some areas recorded 30-50cm of snowfall.Power outages are expected to last several days in some regions, with more than 800,000 households without electricity as of Sunday night. At least seven deaths have been linked to the extreme conditions. Widespread intense cold is now spreading southwards, with lows of -20C in parts of Texas.Forecasters have also warned of an unusual hazard associated with the deep freeze: “exploding” trees. Rapid freezing causes water and tree sap to expand inside tree trunks, sometimes producing loud cracking or explosive sounds as wood and bark split under pressure.Read more from our latest weather tracker here:ShareUpdated at 13.46 CET
