A powerful winter storm sweeping across the United States has killed at least seven people, knocked out electricity to more than 800,000 homes and businesses, and forced widespread school closures and flight cancellations as life-threatening conditions stretch from Texas to New England.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain could persist for days, potentially affecting nearly 180 million Americans — more than half of the country’s population.
As of Today, more than 11,000 flights had been cancelled nationwide, according to FlightAware, while poweroutage.us reported massive outages across several states.
Meteorologists say the combination of snow and ice will complicate emergency response efforts.
“The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, speaking to CBS News.
Louisiana’s Department of Health confirmed that two men died from hypothermia, while officials in Texas reported an “exposure-related” death in Austin.
In Kansas, authorities said a woman whose body was found covered in snow “may have succumbed to hypothermia,” and three weather-related fatalities have been recorded in Tennessee.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people had died in the city, though causes were still under investigation.
“It is a reminder that every year New Yorkers succumb to the cold,” he wrote in a post on X.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged residents to stay indoors and avoid travel, describing the storm as one of the most severe in years.
“This is certainly the coldest weather we’ve seen, the coldest winter storm we’ve seen in years,” Hochul said. “A sort of an arctic siege has taken over our state and many other states across the nation.”
She added that residents should brace for prolonged freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.
“It is bone chilling and it is dangerous,” the governor warned.
Authorities across Virginia and Kentucky responded to hundreds of traffic accidents as icy roads created hazardous driving conditions. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said his state was experiencing more ice than originally forecast.
“That is not good news for Kentucky,” Beshear said.
Weather experts caution that ice accumulation remains one of the storm’s greatest dangers, capable of snapping tree branches, bringing down power lines and making roads nearly impassable. Some southern states could see ice accretions approaching an inch due to freezing rain.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency, saying the capital was experiencing its biggest snowstorm in a decade.
“We’re experiencing the biggest snowstorm in a decade in DC this weekend,” Bowser said.
The extreme cold is especially unusual for southern states such as Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee, where temperatures have plunged 15 to 20 degrees Celsius below seasonal averages.
Canada has also been affected, with heavy snowfall and hundreds of flight cancellations reported. Officials in Ontario expect between 15 and 30 centimetres of snow.
Meteorologists attribute the storm to a weakened polar vortex — a system of strong winds that typically keeps Arctic air contained in the far north. When those winds weaken, frigid air can surge southward, colliding with warmer air and creating intense storm systems.
Forecasters warn that dangerously cold conditions could persist into early next month.
Some climate experts also suggest that climate change may be influencing the behaviour of the polar vortex, as warming sea temperatures disrupt traditional weather patterns.
