Historic winter storm kills nearly 80, impacts millions across more than 40 states

More than 240 cardinal radical crossed much than 40 states, from Arizona to Maine, were slammed by a historic winter storm that extended implicit 2,000 miles and delivered deadly snow and ice.

At slightest 78 radical were killed crossed implicit a twelve states owed to the utmost acold and severe weather conditions.

TENNESSEE BATTLES WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES AFTER SEVERE WEEKEND ICE STORM

Over a twelve states faced hazardous travel conditions, prolonged powerfulness outages and record-low temperatures.

Hundreds of thousands remained without power, peculiarly successful the South, wherever catastrophic ice accumulation snapped swaths of trees and brought down powerfulness lines, leaving communities successful life-threatening conditions.

The tempest carved a destructive way from the Southwest into New England, placing much than 190 cardinal Americans nether winter weather alerts from New Mexico to New York.

States of exigency were declared successful 21 states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. 

How did the monolithic tempest unfold?

The tempest began connected Jan. 23 successful the Southwest earlier intensifying and pushing eastward crossed the country.

The strategy developed Friday day successful the Plains, slamming the country with dense snow, crystal and rain.

By aboriginal Saturday morning, immoderate cities had received astatine slightest 5 inches of snow.

Heavy snowfall continued to broad the Plains and dispersed into Kentucky and the Ohio Valley.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, 3 cities acceptable caller regular records for snowfall totals, including Paducah, Kentucky, with 4.6 inches, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with 4.4 inches, and Kansas City, Kansas, with 5.2 inches.

DEADLY HISTORIC WINTER STORM: ICE LEAVES LIFE-THREATENING POWER OUTAGES ACROSS SOUTH, SNOW BURIES NORTHEAST

Other areas, including Midland, Texas, Dallas and Little Rock experienced wide icing which intensified connected Saturday and continued into Sunday.

This caused powerfulness outages passim some states and severely delayed travel on large interstates.

People locomotion up a elevation aft sledding successful the Hillcrest vicinity connected January 24, 2026, successful Little Rock, Arkansas. 

(Will Newton/Getty Images / FOX Weather)

The sprawling tempest past moved into the Southeast, bringing accumulating crystal and snowfall into Mississippi and into the Carolinas.

Millions were placed nether Ice Storm Warnings crossed the confederate Appalachians and the Southeast, including Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Power outages grew arsenic the value of the crystal compromised powerfulness lines and brought down trees.

Nashville, Tennessee, reported receiving implicit 0.47 inches of crystal portion parts of Mississippi received astir 1 inch of crystal accumulation.

Other areas, similar Belzoni, MS and Rolling Fork, MS, arsenic good arsenic parts of Alabama and South Carolina received astatine slightest an inch of crystal accumulation.

FEBRUARY OUTLOOK: WEAKENING POLAR VORTEX TO EXTEND EXTREME COLD SPELL EVEN LONGER FOR MILLIONS IN EASTERN US

By Sunday, the tempest had moved into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, bringing dense snowfall and crystal to Washington D.C. done New England.

The tempest peaked successful strength passim the time with snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour.

A idiosyncratic skis down the thoroughfare successful Midtown Manhattan arsenic a large snowfall tempest sweeps crossed the eastbound United States, delivering an estimated 2 feet of snow, connected January 25, 2026 successful New York City. 

(Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

The National Airspace System listed 30 airports that were closed, including John F. Kennedy International, Reagan National, Newark Liberty and New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which closed each aerial postulation until 8 p.m. that evening. Many hose disruptions extended into Monday.

SNOW, SLEET, FREEZING RAIN AND HAIL: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

New York City adjacent suspended immoderate subway lines Sunday day arsenic snowfall and sleet bombarded the area.

Both Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA announced the closure of their public-school systems for that Monday arsenic well.

MASSIVE WINTER STORM SPAWNS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT ACROSS GULF COAST WITH POSSIBLE TORNADOES

While the Northeast was slammed with dense snow, the Southeast experienced isolated tornadoes, gusty winds and terrible thunderstorms.

Parts of southeastern Mississippi, confederate Alabama, the Florida panhandle and southwest Georgia were issued a level 2 retired of 5 hazard of terrible thunderstorms.

 A antheral walks on the National Mall arsenic snowfall falls successful Washington, DC, connected January 25, 2026. 

((Photo by Amid FARAHI / AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

The tempest lingered until Jan. 26 erstwhile astir a ft of snowfall was tallied crossed the Interstate 95 corridor successful the Northeast.

More than 18 states totaled much than a ft of snowfall by aboriginal Monday.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BLOWING, DRIFTING SNOW

In the Northeast, New York City recorded 11.4 inches of snowfall successful Central Park arsenic Boston deed 23.2 inches. Philadelphia tallied 9.3 inches of snow, while Baltimore, MD totaled 11.1 inches. This was the archetypal double-digit snowfall lawsuit for Baltimore since 2016.

Nashville was slammed by a large wintertime tempest that produced damaging crystal tempest that has caused thousands of powerfulness outages and chaotic question conditions crossed the Metro Area. 

(Yuri Mamchur)

Winter tempest aftermath: Impacts crossed much than 40 states

As the tempest weakened and moved disconnected the East Coast, it near a way of destruction, ongoing powerfulness outages and large disruptions to regular life.

At slightest 78 radical were killed crossed a twelve states. In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that 23 radical were killed. In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear reported that 12 radical died owed to storm-related causes.

Travel was besides heavy impacted, with much than 32,000 flights canceled nationwide passim the storm, making it 1 of the astir terrible question disruptions since the aboriginal days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Multiple tractor-trailers jackknifed connected a road successful Missouri. 

(MSHP General HQ / FOX Weather)

Additionally, dense snow, crystal and debased visibility led to galore multi-vehicle pileups crossed the country, forcing large interstates to adjacent for days and leaving galore radical stranded.

Meanwhile, communities crossed the U.S. continued to endure from paralyzing, large-scale power outages.

More than 1 cardinal customers successful the Southeast were near without electricity, with Mississippi and Tennessee among the hardest-hit states arsenic Cold Weather Advisories remained successful effect.

FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell, who has been connected the crushed successful Oxford, MS passim the storm, described the severity of the crystal accretion.

She said the value of the crystal caused trees to abruptly snap, starring to extended harm to infrastructure.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

As lingering arctic acold continues to impede some the Northeast and the South, the deficiency of powerfulness poses a life-threatening hazard portion these regions enactment connected repairing and look frigid temperatures.