Everything from catastrophic ice accumulations to more than a foot of snow and double-digit freezing temperatures are expected to hit areas east of the Rocky Mountains.
Much of the country east of the Rocky Mountains will be hit by the worst winter storm of the season, followed by some of the coldest temperatures in years.
The storm began Friday evening in Texas and Oklahoma, pummeling the region with heavy sleet and snow. Forecasters have warned of “catastrophic” ice accumulation. On Saturday, the system is expected to move toward Virginia, dumping more than a foot of snow on parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic, while New England will see double-digit freezing temperatures.
“Everyone, please take this storm seriously,” the National Weather Service warned in a statement on social media. “Cold can be deadly.”
By late Friday night, forecasters in Lubbock, Texas, warned that a mix of sleet and snow would make driving conditions dangerous. Thousands of Saturday flights have been canceled. Catholic faith leaders from Arkansas to Washington, D.C., have given special permission to miss Mass. Trump administration officials have told employees not to come to work. Even the ice hockey team was forced to change its schedule.
“What makes this storm especially dangerous is the duration of the impact, which could bring freezing rain, ice and snow for more than 24 hours in some locations,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pidinowski.
Here’s what you need to know about the weekend storm expected to hit tens of millions of Americans.
Snow had already begun to fall before noon Saturday morning in the plains from parts of Kansas and Oklahoma to Missouri, as well as parts of Texas and Arkansas. Snow is expected to fall across the country throughout the day Saturday into Sunday.
See where the winter storm is currently on this radar map.
-Mike Snyder
On Saturday morning, a daily low temperature record of minus 24 degrees was set in Flint, Michigan, just one degree warmer than the station’s all-time low temperatures set in January 1976 and February 2015.
-Dina Boyles Pulver
A mix of sleet and snow continued Saturday in Lubbock, Texas, the National Weather Service reported.
“It’s extremely rare to see sleet at such low temperatures,” meteorologist Harrison Sinkavage said.
The weather service received reports of trees and branches breaking under the weight of the ice and related power outages in New Mexico, Oklahoma and eastern Texas. In Idabel, Oklahoma, authorities reported half an inch of ice on exposed objects.
-Dina Boyles Pulver
Severe winter weather warnings, advisories and warnings covered most of the country on Saturday. At least 167 million people are under severe weather warnings or winter weather warnings over the weekend.
Areas from New Mexico through Tennessee and parts of the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic coast and Northeast were under winter storm warnings. 20.3 million people are under ice storm warnings across the southern region.
-Dina Boyles Pulver
On the morning of Saturday, January 24th, most people in the United States woke up to bone-chilling temperatures and snow covering the ground.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said some areas, including parts of Texas and Oklahoma, had already seen at least 6 inches of snow in the early morning hours.
The National Weather Service reported that 4 inches of snow had already fallen in parts of Tennessee, including the small city of Ripley, about 85 miles northeast of Memphis.
See our interactive snowfall map.
-Natalie Neisa Alland
If you’re planning on flying this weekend, prepare for some disruption. Please check the latest information from your airline and consider rebooking if possible.
If you must travel, be sure to be fully prepared. More flights may be delayed or canceled as the storm progresses. Avoid long lines at airport agent desks and long phone holds by researching rebooking options and alternative itineraries in advance and taking advantage of your airline’s self-service tools.
“Speed will be key,” Going travel expert Katie Nastro told USA TODAY in a statement. “We want people flying to make alternative plans as soon as possible to ensure they make the rebooking that works best for them. There is not an infinite supply of seats to rebook, and there’s never been a better time to get the best odds on a successful rebooking.”
If you’re headed to the airport this weekend, it’s a good idea to pack some extra food.
If your flight is canceled, the airline will automatically rebook you on another flight. If your flight is canceled for any reason and you choose not to board, Department of Transportation regulations require the airline to issue a refund, regardless of ticket type. read more.
–Eve Chen, Zack Wictor, Nathan Diller
Some parts of the United States woke up to much less snow than expected or no snow at all. Here’s why it happened and why it probably won’t last.
In the Middle Tennessee area, many people woke up to drier conditions.
“We’ve already seen some light snow in the upper atmosphere, but it’s so dry near the surface that it’s evaporating before it reaches the ground,” the National Weather Service office in Nashville said. “Things will change over the next few hours as the lower atmosphere saturates, allowing snow to reach the ground.”
In Oklahoma, meteorologists said dry air “ate” snowfall from Friday for the same reason. Several inches of snow fell in parts of eastern Oklahoma Friday night, but the total was less than the most generous forecasts made over the past few days.
“Forecast models focus on where snow forms in clouds, especially in an arctic air mass like this one, which doesn’t handle dry air very well at the bottom level. So while everything looked like a solid snow setup on paper, the atmosphere below the clouds is essentially ‘eating’ the snow as it falls. Still tonight!” said Mike Collier, an independent meteorologist based in Tulsa.
-Nicole Young, Tennessean. Dale Denwalt and Cheyenne Dirksen from The Oklahoman
As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, more than 3,400 flights to and from the United States were canceled, according to FlightAware.com data. Airlines began preemptively canceling flights ahead of the storm’s impact to avoid weekend travel disruptions.
The airport with the most cancellations in the country on Saturday was Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as of about 10:30 a.m.
More than 6,000 flights have already been canceled on Sunday, the website said.
“Air travel disruptions are rapidly escalating, with ice and snow spreading across major hub airports and flight cancellations spiking across the country,” Pidinowski said.
As snow and ice storms spread across the country, cancellations are likely to continue to rise. Travelers are advised to plan ahead and take advantage of airline waivers.
– Janine Santucci
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser warned residents that “the biggest snowstorm in a decade is expected in D.C. this weekend.”
He said on social media that at least 9 inches of snow is expected in the capital, with more than 12 inches possible. He warned that the heaviest accumulations will occur from Saturday night into Sunday morning. The official “snow emergency” declaration goes into effect at noon Saturday and lasts until Tuesday morning.
— Zachary Schermel
States from Michigan to Vermont are facing salt shortages ahead of the upcoming storm, according to local and national media reports.
Vermont Public reports that the shortage in Vermont is due to this season’s frequent storms. The lack of salt has forced some towns to scale back ice removal.
Michigan officials also blamed the shortage on a harsh winter season, CBS News reported. Officials in Monroe County, located between Detroit and Ohio, told news stations that local crews used more salt in December than the previous four Decembers combined.
Cleveland officials are telling residents there may not be enough salt in residential areas. The city says snowplows will continue to be assigned snowplows.
Forecasters expect more than 6 inches of snow to fall in areas from New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle and the Mississippi Valley, while freezing rain and sleet are expected to fall in the Southern Plains, Mid-South, Tennessee Valley and lower Mid-Atlantic.
For southern states unprepared for the cold, the forecast raises concerns about a 2021 freeze in Texas or a repeat of the frigid winter storm that hit New Orleans in January 2025.
Fortunately, meteorologists said they don’t expect this weekend’s storm to be as devastating as other storms in recent Southern history. But as thousands of people begin preparing for the worst-case scenario, stocking up on stores and fortifying their homes, here’s a look back at how the southern United States has weathered major winter storms in the past.
- 1950 Appalachian Storm: November 22-30, 1950. Thanksgiving weekend in 1950 brought a winter storm that dumped deadly amounts of snow across the Appalachian region. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the region received 30 to 50 inches of heavy snow, with Coburn Creek, West Virginia receiving a whopping 62 inches.
- Storm of the Century: March 12-15, 1993. The Category 5 storm affected more than 100 million people and caused the largest weather-related air travel disruption in the United States, according to NOAA. The heaviest snow fell from the southern Appalachians to the Canadian border, with more than 40 inches of snow reported in some locations. Five feet of snow fell in Smoky Mountain National Park, and 56 inches fell on LeConte Mountain in Tennessee, the weather service said.
Learn more about past disasters, from the New Year’s Blizzard of 1964, which dumped more than 17 inches of snow on Huntsville, Alabama, to the Christmas Coastal Blizzard of 1989, which hit coastal North Carolina with record-low temperatures.
— Mary Walras-Holdridge
