UNITED STATES — A massive winter storm continued to pummel large swaths of the United States Sunday, bringing sleet, freezing rain, and heavy snowfall from the South all the way to New England, leaving millions facing frigid temperatures, treacherous roads, and widespread power outages.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that ice and snow would persist through Monday in much of the country, followed by dangerously low temperatures that could prolong travel hazards and infrastructure disruptions for several days. Meteorologist Allison Santorelli described the storm as “unique in its widespread reach,” spanning approximately 2,000 miles from New Mexico and Texas to the Northeast.
As of Sunday morning, roughly 213 million Americans were under winter weather warnings. Power outages approached 800,000 customers, with Tennessee hardest hit at more than 250,000 without electricity. Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi also reported outages affecting over 100,000 each.
Air travel has been severely disrupted, with more than 10,000 flights canceled and an additional 8,000 delayed, particularly at major hubs in Philadelphia, Washington, Raleigh-Durham, New York, and New Jersey.
Even after the storm passes, Santorelli warned that bitterly cold temperatures across much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation could slow ice and snow melt, complicating restoration of power and infrastructure.
President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states by Saturday, with more expected. FEMA has pre-positioned resources, staff, and search-and-rescue teams, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Local conditions were severe. In Nashville, ice accumulation exceeded half an inch, snapping tree limbs and power lines. Police and utility crews in Oxford, Mississippi advised residents to stay home, suspending repair operations due to dangerous conditions. The “Waffle House Index”, an informal measure of weather severity in the South, indicated extreme disruption as many locations closed due to icy roads, including northern Georgia.
Santorelli noted that half an inch of ice typically triggers widespread power outages, underscoring the storm’s severity. Authorities continue to urge residents to avoid unnecessary travel and remain vigilant as recovery operations proceed across affected states.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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