A truck with trailer in a ditch in whiteout conditions along Lake Michigan Drive during a winter storm warning in Ottawa County, Mich. on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Joel Bissell/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)
More than 170 million Americans, about half the country’s population, could be affected by a potentially catastrophic ice storm that could crush trees and power lines and knock out power for days, the National Weather Service said on Friday.
11 states declare emergency
At least 11 states, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, have declared a state of emergency as the storm nears.
The winter storm has also forced the cancellation of more than 1,400 flights within, into or out of the US on Saturday, with two airports in Dallas hit the hardest.
A motorist travels on a road that has been treated with salt brine Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Travel advisory
Oklahoma’s Department of Transportation pre-treated roads with salt brine. The state Highway Patrol cancelled days off for troopers so more will be out to assist and said it was partnering with the National Guard to send teams out to help stranded drivers.
“Travel is going to become more and more treacherous starting late Friday afternoon and lasting through the rest of the weekend,” the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, posted online.
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-46 degrees
The massive storm system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas through parts of the South, potentially more than 30 centimetres of snow from Oklahoma through Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, and then a final punch of bitterly cold air that could drop wind chills to minus 46 Celsius in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.
A sign visible from the eastbound lanes of Highway 121 warns of road preparations ahead of inclement weather expected in the region Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Frostbite within 10 minutes
Forecasters are warning the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. Many people were under winter storm or cold weather watches or warnings — and in many places, both.
Cold air streaming down from Canada caused Chicago Public Schools and Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa to cancel classes Friday, as well.
Wind chills predicted to be as low as minus 37 Celsius could cause frostbite within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.
The cold punch coming after means it will take a while to thaw out, an especially dangerous prospect in places where ice and snow weighs down tree branches and power lines and cuts electricity, perhaps for days. Roads and sidewalks could remain icy well into next week.
An Oncor Electric Delivery lineman crew works on repairing a utility pole that was damaged by a winter storm on Feb. 18, 2021, in Odessa, Texas. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP, File)
Ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more susceptible to snapping, especially in windy weather.
Freezing temperatures are expected all the way to Florida, forecasters said. A severe cold snap five years ago took down much of the power grid in Texas, leaving millions without power for days and resulting in hundreds of deaths.
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A truck with trailer in a ditch in whiteout conditions along Lake Michigan Drive during a winter storm warning in Ottawa County, Mich. on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Joel Bissell/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP) 
