More than 400,000 customers in the U.S. as far west as Texas were without power on Sunday as a massive winter storm swept across the eastern two-thirds of the country, prompting widespread flight cancellations and emergency preparations. Over 9,600 flights were expected to be canceled on Sunday alone, according to FlightAware, with more than 4,000 already grounded on Saturday.
Forecasters warned that snow, sleet, freezing rain, and dangerously low temperatures would continue through the week, affecting millions. The National Weather Service described the storm as unusually expansive, with ice accumulation in the Southeast expected to cause “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts.” Temperatures were predicted to plunge further into the Great Plains by Monday, accompanied by dangerously cold wind chills.
In response, U.S. President Donald Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia. “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia declared weather emergencies. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urged residents to take precautions. “It’s going to be very, very cold. So we’d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together,” she said. Noem added that utility crews were working to restore electricity as quickly as possible.
The Department of Energy issued emergency orders to support the electric grid. In Texas, the Electric Reliability Council was authorised to deploy backup generation at data centers and other critical facilities to limit blackouts. In the mid-Atlantic region, PJM Interconnection received permission to operate specific resources regardless of state limits or environmental permits.
Power outages were rising, with approximately 100,000 customers without electricity in both Mississippi and Texas. Louisiana, Tennessee, and New Mexico were also affected, according to PowerOutage.us. Dominion Energy, which operates the largest collection of data centers in Virginia, warned that ice accumulation could make this one of the largest winter events in the company’s history.
Airlines scrambled to adjust schedules as the storm moved east. Delta Air Lines relocated staff to southern airports to support de-icing and baggage operations, while JetBlue reported about 1,000 cancellations through Monday. United Airlines proactively canceled flights in regions expecting the worst weather.
The storm’s scale, spanning from Texas to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, has disrupted transportation and energy systems, leaving communities bracing for continued cold, ice, and snow. Authorities emphasized preparation and caution as the nation faces one of the most significant winter events in recent years.
