Coast-to-coast warnings and travel disruptions

A vast winter storm stretching from the Southern Plains to New England was sweeping across the United States on Friday, coating highways in ice, dumping heavy snow and bringing dangerously low temperatures to tens of millions of people. Forecasters warned of freezing rain from Texas to Tennessee and a band of snow and sleet that would arc from the Ohio Valley to the northeast, with as much as a foot of accumulation in some areas. By mid‑afternoon, more than 180 million people were under some sort of winter weather watch or warning, and 210 million were under cold advisories as Arctic air spilled south from Canada. Governors in at least nine states declared emergencies or pre‑positioned National Guard troops, and many schools cancelled classes or switched to online instruction. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights, and highways were clogged with ploughs and jackknifed tractor trailers. Weather officials urged drivers to stay off the roads and stock vehicles with blankets, water and food if travel could not be avoided. In Texas, where a 2021 cold snap crippled the power grid and left millions in the dark, utility companies braced for high demand as freezing rain threatened to encase power lines and tree limbs in ice.

Emergency declarations and infrastructure worries

The storm’s reach and intensity underscored how climate variability can turn routine winter weather into a multiregional crisis. Meteorologists said the system was drawing on Gulf moisture and Canadian air to create a “classic” ice storm in some areas and a major snowmaker in others. In Oklahoma and Arkansas, rain fell and froze instantly on contact with surfaces, creating a glaze that snapped tree limbs and made walking treacherous. In Kentucky and West Virginia, emergency shelters opened for people without heat as local officials worried about carbon monoxide poisoning from unsafe heating methods. Up to a foot of snow was expected in parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England over the weekend, while parts of the Mid‑Atlantic prepared for sleet and freezing rain. Residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food and water; hardware stores reported runs on generators, space heaters and shovels. Nearly 5,000 flights were delayed or cancelled nationwide, and more than a dozen states had declared states of emergency by nightfall. The Federal Emergency Management Agency activated search‑and‑rescue teams, moved meals and blankets into staging areas, and readied generators in case of widespread outages. President Joe Biden said federal agencies were coordinating with state and local officials to keep roads clear and power flowing.

The sheer size of the weather system meant that no region would escape its effects. In the northern Plains, wind chills plunged to minus 40 Fahrenheit, making frostbite possible in minutes. In the Deep South, residents faced the unfamiliar sight of sleet and the sound of ice pellets pinging off roofs. Across the Great Lakes, bands of lake‑effect snow were expected to dump even more accumulation after the main storm passed. Climate experts cautioned that while individual storms cannot be tied directly to long‑term warming, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, potentially leading to heavier precipitation events. For now, emergency managers urged people to prepare for extended power losses and to check on neighbours who might be vulnerable to cold. For many Americans, the storm served as a reminder of the fragility of infrastructure in the face of extreme weather and the need for communities to plan for increasingly volatile seasons.