The United States is bracing for a massive winter storm that has already led to the cancellation of more than 1,800 flights, disrupting travel across several regions and triggering power outages amid biting
cold across the country.
The severe winter storm sweeping the United States, placing more than 150 million Americans under weather emergency alerts, began with heavy snowfall across northwest Texas and Oklahoma City on Friday morning (local time).
The extraordinary weather will bring bitter cold, ice, sleet and snow to several parts of the US and at least 15 states have so far declared states of emergency in view of the storm.
According to the National Weather Service’s prediction, heavy snowfall from Oklahoma to the Northeast where over a foot of snow is possible for some locations through Monday.
“In addition, widespread freezing rain and sleet are expected across the Southern Plains, the Lower Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley, and the Southeast. The storm will cause significant to locally catastrophic ice accumulations with the potential for long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” NWS wrote on X.
Winter storm watches, warnings, advisories and ice storm warnings are in place millions of Americas. Heavy snowfall is forecast from Oklahoma to the Northeast where over a foot of snow is possible for some locations through Monday.
In addition, widespread freezing rain and sleet… pic.twitter.com/sLKM1KaGxQ
— National Weather Service (@NWS) January 23, 2026
The storm is expected to last for several days, moving into the densely populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states, disrupting daily life and ushering in a frigid air mass across the country, Reuters reported.
The storm’s snow and ice will stretch over 2,000 miles from Texas to New England.
Flights Cancelled
The storm has disrupted air travel across the United States, with airlines cancelling flights, warning of delays, and issuing travel waivers as ice, snow, and strong winds batter major hubs and regional airports across the South, East, and central regions of the country.
According to the tracker Flightaware, more than 1,800 weekend flights have already been cancelled.
On Friday, Delta Air Lines urged passengers traveling this weekend to reschedule their flights in view of the storm.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said it anticipates “airports will have to close” s the weather will impact air travel from Texas through the Northeast, as per CNN.
“The FAA is already working with airlines to help reposition aircraft ahead of the storm given the anticipated airport closures,” the agency was quoted as saying.
Panic Buying
As Americans rushed to stock up on essentials ahead of the winter storm, many found store shelves largely empty. According to a Fox Business report, panic buying cleared out supplies at several grocery stores across Mississippi, Texas, and Washington, DC, leaving essentials such as water and milk out of stock.
Items including eggs, sausages, and hot dogs were also reported to be in short supply.
Shelves emptied in Mamdani NYC by panic buyers bracing for historic Arctic storm pic.twitter.com/9cPCphInK4
— RT (@RT_com) January 24, 2026
Purported videos showing empty stores and anxious shoppers searching for supplies also surfaced from New York City. The storm is being seen as the first major test for Zohran Mamdani, an Indian-origin leader who recently took office as New York City’s mayor.
