Storm in the US leaves 850,000 people without power and forces the cancellation of 10,000 flights

A snowplow truck works on the road as a major winter storm sweeps across a large swath of the United States, in Washington, DC, U.S., on January 25, 2026.— Reuters

Snow, sleet, freezing rain and dangerously cold weather are expected on Sunday.
Federal emergency declarations approved in at least 12 states.
The cuts affect states such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

More than 850,000 customers in the United States, as far west as New Mexico, were without power and more than 10,000 flights were canceled Sunday during a monster winter storm that paralyzed eastern and southern states with heavy snow and ice.

As snow, freezing rain and dangerously frigid temperatures swept across the eastern two-thirds of the country on Sunday, the number of power outages continued to rise. As of 10:47 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, more than 850,000 U.S. customers were without power, according to PowerOutage.uswith at least 290,000 in Tennessee and more than 100,000 in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana each. Other affected states were Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama.

More than 10,200 U.S. flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled, according to flight tracking website conscious flight. More than 4,000 flights were canceled on Saturday.

Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., said airlines had canceled all flights at the airport on Sunday.

Delta Air Lines said Sunday that it intended to operate on a reduced schedule “subject to real-time freezing precipitation and thunderstorm conditions in the afternoon.”

A man helps a stuck driver on Connecticut Ave NW in Washington, DC, US, as a major winter storm sweeps across a large swath of the United States, January 25, 2026. – Reuters

The airline had adjusted its schedule on Saturday, with additional morning cancellations for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including Boston and New York City, and said it would move experts from cold weather centers to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports.

The National Weather Service's latest forecast for Sunday and Monday morning calls for heavy snowfall from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, including up to 18 inches in New England. Much of the Southeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic are expected to receive rain and freezing rain.

Forecasters predicted “extremely cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills” from the southern Plains to the Northeast in the storm's wake, bringing “prolonged and dangerous impacts to travel and infrastructure.”

Federal and state governments declare emergencies

Calling the storms “historic,” President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.

A snowplow vehicle clears snow in the Capitol Hill neighborhood as a major winter storm sweeps across a large swath of the United States, in Washington, DC, U.S., January 25, 2026. – Reuters

“We will continue to monitor and stay in contact with all states in the path of this storm. Stay safe and stay warm,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared climate emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, in a press conference Saturday, warned Americans to take precautions.

“It's going to be very, very cold,” Noem said. “So we encourage everyone to stock up on fuel and stock up on food, and together we will get through this.”

People cross the street during a snowfall in Times Square, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in New York City, United States, on January 25. - Reuters — People cross the street during a snowfall in Times Square, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in New York City, United States, on January 25. – Reuters

The Department of Energy on Saturday issued an emergency order authorizing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generation resources at data centers and other major facilities, with the goal of limiting blackouts in the state.

On Sunday, the DOE issued an emergency order authorizing grid operator PJM Interconnection to run “specific resources” in the Mid-Atlantic region, regardless of limits set by state laws or environmental permits.

US power grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts.

Dominion Energy, whose operations in Virginia include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said that if its ice forecast holds true, the winter event could be among the largest to affect the company.