Monster winter storm slams U.S., triggering emergency declarations, flight chaos and widespread outages
A sweeping winter storm pushed across the eastern two-thirds of the United States with snow, ice and bitter cold, driving mass flight cancellations, power failures and emergency declarations in multiple states as officials urged people to stay off the roads.
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A sprawling winter storm barreled across the United States on Sunday, January 25, 2026, bringing a dangerous mix of heavy snow, freezing rain and plunging temperatures that disrupted travel and strained power systems from the South into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Air travel took a major hit: thousands of flights were canceled over the weekend, with Sunday cancellations alone surging past 9,000, as airlines and airports braced for icing and low visibility.
Utility crews raced to respond as outages spread, with tens of thousands of customers losing electricity in several states. Officials warned that ice accumulation could snap tree limbs and power lines, extending restoration timelines in the hardest-hit areas.
The storm’s footprint was large enough to prompt federal emergency declarations in a number of states, as local governments opened warming centers and pressed residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
- Widespread winter storm warnings and ice alerts stretched across a broad swath of the country.
- Major hubs in the South and East reported extensive disruptions and rolling cancellations.
- Officials warned the combination of ice and extreme cold could make recovery slower even after precipitation ends.