Death toll rises as bitter cold sets in, with more record lows to come
This version of Live Updates Winter Storm Freezing Rain Snow Rcna255871 - Weather and Climate | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
Snow from this weekend's storm is tapering off, but Arctic air will be sending temperatures plunging even further across much of the country over the next couple of days.
What we know
- The heaviest snow from this weekend's storm has been moving offshore today, but more than 200 million people are under alerts for severe cold, including in almost every state east of the Rockies and outside New England.
- The weather has been blamed for the deaths of at least 21 people: three in Pennsylvania, three in Tennessee, three in Louisiana, two in Arkansas, two in Texas, two in Mississippi, one in Ohio, one in Kansas, one in South Carolina, one in Kentucky, one in New Jersey and one in Massachusetts, according to local officials.
- While electricity has been steadily getting restored, more than 560,000 energy customers were without power tonight, including more than 195,000 in Tennessee.
- The storm is causing travel chaos, having canceled 12,000 flights yesterday and over 5,900 today.
- More widespread record cold temperatures are expected across the southern Plains into the lower Mississippi Valley tomorrow morning as temperatures dip into the single digits and the teens. The interior mid-Atlantic can expect temperatures in the single digits.
Trump administration authorizes utilities to use 'backup generation resources'
The Trump administration tonight authorized utility companies that serve much of the East Coast to deploy backup electricity generation amid plunging arctic temperatures and ongoing outages.
The Energy Department issued emergency orders to Duke Energy and PJM Interconnection to allow them to use "backup generation resources" to stave off blackouts in the Carolinas for Duke and in parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., for PJM, according to the orders.
The department issued similar orders allowing maximum generation or the use of temporary generation over the weekend that apply to utilities in Texas and New England.
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would encourage using stationary backup generators, powered by what it calls stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines, for temporary stretches of time to bolster the electricity grid and provide power during times of peak demand.
In a statement, it cited Duke Energy as a model for such backup power.
"Duke Energy is able to dispatch generators ... to mitigate imminent local energy emergencies and limitations on local transmission ... to avert voltage collapse and power supply interruptions," it said.
Big flight delays at Boston, Philadelphia airports as nationwide cancellations rise
Delays and flight cancellations along the East Coast continued to weigh on travelers amid continued extreme weather, including Arctic air that has moved in behind the weekend's snowstorm.
Nationwide, more than 5,977 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled today, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.com. There have also been 7,557 delayed flights within, into or out of the country.
Among the airports with the longest delays are Philadelphia International and Boston Logan International.
At Philadelphia International, the average departure delay was 97 minutes, and the average delay time for arriving passengers was 86 minutes, the site said. Departure delays were getting longer, it said.
At Boston Logan, departing passengers were being delayed by 90 minutes, while arriving travelers were delayed an average of 65 minutes, with the latter number decreasing tonight, FlightAware indicated.
Boston Logan's operators warned travelers today not only that they would face possible delays but also that some carriers had halted flights altogether. It said flights were likely to be back on schedule tomorrow.
"Due to winter storm clean up, few airlines are operating at Logan today," it said on X. "Please check with your airline before coming to the airport."
New York City under 'Enhanced Code Blue' to protect homeless from cold
New York City Emergency Management officials said today that the city remains under an "Enhanced Code Blue" amid potentially deadly temperatures.
The status means no one seeking shelter will be turned down, the agency said in a statement.
Participating locations include more than 50 hospitals and multiple city Department of Homeless Services drop-in centers, the latter of which will have “a full open-door policy so every New Yorker has a safe, warm place,” NYC Emergency Management said.
"Prolonged exposure can lead to hypothermia and frostbite in a short period of time, especially overnight and in high winds," it said. "No one should remain outdoors in these conditions."
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced activation of Enhanced Code Blue on Saturday. In addition to hospitals and drop-in centers where residents can ask for help, the city has established two shelters for each of the city's five boroughs at high school campuses, the mayor's office said.
Dallas shelter fills with more than 1,100 as coldest weather still looms
A Dallas facility set up to shelter homeless people otherwise facing mortal temperatures during what could be a record cold spell was filled with an estimated 1,150 people, city officials said today.
An additional 15 adults and 23 children from 10 households were placed at hotels, the city of Dallas said in a statement.
Meanwhile, firefighters were busy getting 24 homeless people off the streets overnight, bringing the total pulled from the streets since the extreme weather started to 154, according to the statement.
Forty-six homeless people were taken to shelters by the city agency Dallas Street Response since the weather event began over the weekend, the city said.
Fed will hold interest rate meeting despite weather
The Federal Open Market Committee will meet as planned tomorrow and Wednesday, and its much-anticipated order on interest rates will be released as scheduled, the Federal Reserve said in a statement today.
The action will take place despite an ordered closure of federal government offices in the Washington area tomorrow attributed to the extreme weather.
The chair’s news conference, to include interest rate information, will start as scheduled at 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, it said.
The Fed is expected to keep its overnight interest rate unchanged, according to CNBC.
After 37 snowplows break down, Pittsburgh declares state of emergency
The city of Pittsburgh declared a state of emergency today after 37 of its snowplows broke down overnight, Mayor Corey O'Connor said.
The nonworking equipment represents a large share of the city's 95-snowplow fleet, and the emergency status will allow it to hire contractors with their own vehicles to pitch in, O'Connor said at a news conference.
The city's maintenance garage is working around the clock to get at least some of those trucks back up and running, he said.
Equipment is being squeezed as temperatures will continue to decline following the weekend's snowstorm, with O'Connor saying they could dip to minus 20 overnight.
The city's snowplows faced near-record precipitation, with almost an inch of snow falling every hour yesterday, he said. The pace of snowfall yesterday ranked second for daily snowfall rates measured in the last 30 years, O'Connor said.
Trash and recycling pickup was canceled for today and tomorrow, he said. Residents should also try to cancel any trips amid the arctic spell, he said.
"Please, stay on main access points if you have to get somewhere," he said.
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers have responded to over 2,700 road incidents since Saturday
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers have responded to more than 2,700 road incidents since Saturday as heavy snow and extreme cold hit the state.
"Since Winter Storm Fern entered Ohio on January 24, troopers have responded to over 2,700 incidents involving crashes, assisting stranded motorists and other duties that ensure roadway safety," the highway patrol said in a news release.
Ohio declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, and some areas of the state got almost 17 inches of snow. Officials asked motorists to stay off the roads amid dangerous driving conditions.
“Although the statewide threat for heavy falling snow has passed, many roads are still slick,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the highway patrol's news release. “If you need to travel, I encourage you to follow the advice of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and bring a winter travel kit with you.”
New Jersey man found outside with snow shovel in hand has died
A New Jersey man died yesterday after authorities found him unresponsive on his back with a snow shovel in his hand, the Verona Police Department said.
The man, 67, had been shoveling a sidewalk, the department said in a statement. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The department did not immediately identify the man or provide a cause of death.
N.H. authorities cite heap of wrecked vehicles as they warn drivers to stay home
New Hampshire State Police today are showing receipts for why they've been urging drivers to stay off storm-affected roads.
Since the storm struck over the weekend, state police said in a statement, troopers have responded to 126 reports of collisions, vehicles that went off the road and requests by drivers for assistance.
Even as the state Transportation Department clears snow from roads and snow is expected to decrease tonight, state police said the advice remains.
"The driving conditions will continue to remain hazardous in many areas," the department said. "We continue to encourage Granite Staters to stay home if possible."
Hundreds of thousands still without power, even as electricity returns for some
As snow, ice and wind are replaced by arctic temperatures, storm-stalled electricity is being restored for thousands of utility customers today, though hundreds of thousands are still without power.
The day’s earlier figure of more than 700,000 customers without power in storm-affected states had been reduced to a little more than 606,000 by early evening, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, which shows an outage map that roughly mirrors the footprint of the weekend’s most extreme weather.
In Tennessee, where an estimated 230,000 customers were without power earlier today, electricity had been restored to nearly 25,000 users by evening.
In Mississippi, where officials said full power restoration could take weeks, roughly 2,000 customers' lights went back on today, according to the utility tracker. The state still has more than 148,000 customers without electricity as night emerges, according to the website.
72-year-old Kentucky woman dies of hypothermia, governor says
A 72-year-old woman has died of hypothermia in Kentucky's Whitley County, Gov. Andy Beshear said this evening.
The announcement, which did not indicate when the death was reported, is the state's first confirmed winter storm-related death — with dangerously cold temperatures expected to continue this week.
"We need folks to stay inside; even 10-30 minutes of exposure could cause frostbite or hypothermia," Beshear wrote on X. "Limit outdoor time and please bring your pets inside."
Beshear said at a news conference this morning that officials are investigating three more reported deaths to determine whether they were caused by the storm.
National Guard deployed in Mississippi
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed an executive order to deploy the National Guard to assist in storm recovery efforts.
Reeves said at a briefing today that up to 500 members will be deployed initially but that those numbers could increase.
Maj. Gen. Bobby Ginn Jr., adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, said that service members would be prepared to mobilize tomorrow and that he foresees “being fully operational” by Wednesday morning.
Ginn and Reeves said the guard would focus primarily on logistics, such as getting resources to water and food distribution points.
"From debris cleanup to traffic control, we're going to build this task force," Ginn said.
Its tactical operation center will be based out of Camp McCain in Grenada County.
Governors in New York and North Carolina have also deployed service members.
Deaths in Arkansas and South Carolina raise toll to 19
A second death in Arkansas involving an ATV and the death of a 96-year-old woman in South Carolina from hypothermia bring the number of weather-related deaths to 19.
It is the first reported death in South Carolina related to this weekend's winter storm. The death of a 40-year-old man in an ATV accident in Hope, Arkansas, is the second one reported in the state. Earlier today, the Arkansas State Emergency Operations Center confirmed the death of a 17-year-old who was being pulled by an ATV when he struck a tree.
Cold remains a threat in Mississippi as power outages persist
Mississippi emergency officials today continued to warn residents that the cold remains a threat as tens of thousands of utility customers in the state remain without power.
Temperatures in the upper region of the state and in the Mississippi Delta are expected to remain below freezing through tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service.
"The cold wind chills as low as 13 below zero could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken," an extreme cold warning this afternoon advised. "Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures."
More than 150,000 utility customers in Mississippi were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
Although out-of-state line personnel have traveled to Mississippi to aid in restoration efforts, bringing customers back online could take weeks in some areas, according to Northern District Public Service Commissioner Chris Brown.
“It’s a herculean task,” he said.
With repairs having to start at substations, he said, more populated areas may have power restored first.
“It’s like a line,” Brown said. “You can’t fix it in the middle of the line until you fix it where the generation is or where the power is coming from.”
The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides power to several utilities in north Mississippi, said today that it had "deployed all available resources" in affected states, including helicopters and drones in areas that crews couldn’t otherwise reach.
More than half of Mississippi’s counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians have reported damage from the storm, according to the governor’s office.
Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said on social media that the battering from the storm had brought her to tears.
“It looks like a tornado went down every street,” she wrote in an update.
Tannehill said in a video late this morning that crews from Tennessee and Alabama had arrived to assist with power outages. The University of Mississippi, the main campus of which is in Oxford, will be closed through Sunday.
A shelter-in-place alert for the town of about 27,000 residents remains in effect.
“Don’t let this sunshine give you a false sense of security about road conditions, because they are still very dangerous,” Tannehill said.
NYC students return to in-person learning tomorrow
All New York City public schools will reopen tomorrow, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Public Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels announced.
Mamdani said over the weekend that students would be learning from home today to prioritize safety amid yesterday's snowstorm.
“Thanks to the round-the-clock work of our schools facilities teams, we are ready to welcome students and staff back to classrooms tomorrow," he said in a statement. "I am deeply grateful to our school leaders, educators and families for making today’s remote learning day a success and for preparing our students to return.”
Connecticut extends severe cold weather protocol, becoming longest protocol in over a decade
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he is extending the state's severe cold weather protocol to Feb. 5 as extremely cold temperatures are expected to stick around.
The protocol was originally set to expire Wednesday, but it was extended after the forecast predicted overnight single-digit temperatures over the next 10 days. Lamont said it was the longest such protocol in the state in over a decade.
“What we’re experiencing right now is an uninterrupted, long-duration cold spell that Connecticut hasn’t seen in many years, with well below normal temperatures expected to stick around for more than another week,” he said in a statement. “Shelters and warming centers are open throughout the state, and we are working with our municipal and nonprofit partners to ensure they have the resources to help anyone who needs this support.”
Some service cancellations still needed for Amtrak trains
Amtrak Northeast Corridor is still working to restore normal operations, and some service cancellations and changes are still underway, the company posted on X.
"We continue to monitor conditions along your travel route, and depending on any remaining impacts, your trip may be affected," the post said. Amtrak Northeast is asking customers to "plan accordingly" and said all affected customers would be notified if changes occur.
Video shows large traffic sign fell on top of semi truck on Tennessee highway
A semi truck on I-65 NB in Davidson County, Tennessee, collided with a traffic sign earlier today, video from the Tennessee Department of Transportation shows.
“Please avoid this area as we are still working to get this sign fixed as quick as possible. Crews are continuing to make sure the detour off the ramp is passable," a representative for the Department of Transportation said on X.
The highway is closed at Exit 78.
Over 4,800 flight cancellations and 5,000 delays
Over 4,800 flights traveling into, from and within the U.S. have been canceled and more than 5,000 have been delayed as of this afternoon, according to FlightAware.com.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is leading the charts with 749 cancellations and 501 delays. Boston Logan International Airport trails shortly behind with 550 cancellations and 129 delays.
American Airlines accounts for most of the flight woes with 969 cancellations and 964 delays.
Two horses rescued from frozen pond in Missouri
Cuba Fire Protection District responded to an assistance request this morning to get two horses out of a frozen pond after they had walked out on the snow-covered ice.
"Personnel were able to break a path and lead the horses out of the water," the fire department said in a statement. "The horses were checked by a local veterinarian and found the horses to be in good condition."
The horses were taken to a barn and are doing well, the department said. The rescue efforts were conducted as parts of Missouri remain under a cold warning.
Over 724,600 utility customers without power in the U.S.
Over 724,600 utility customers from the mid-Atlantic to the South are without power as of this afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US.
Tennessee is in the lead with more than 233,390 without power, with Mississippi in second place with over 145,750 without power.
Louisiana accounts for 117,325 utility customers without power, while 45,500 Texans are still in the dark.
Ground delay at Newark airport
A ground delay of almost three hours has been issued at Newark Liberty International Airport due to inclement weather, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
A ground stop at Philadelphia International Airport has been downgraded to a ground delay of 2.5 hours, per the FAA.
Deaths in Ohio, Mississippi and Louisiana bring storm death toll up to 17
Weather-related fatalities in Ohio, Louisiana and Mississippi bring the number of deaths from this weekend's winter storm up to 17.
The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed a third winter storm-related death in the state, an 86-year-old man who died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also confirmed two weather-related fatalities from the winter storm. And Ohio state police announced a snowmobiler was struck and killed by a plow truck.
Mississippi and Louisiana were two of the hardest-hit states this weekend, reporting major power outages and some of the highest ice reports in the country along with Tennessee.
This was one of the worst ice storms to hit Mississippi in decades — nearly half of the Southern state’s counties had reported ice as of yesterday afternoon, Reeves said at a news briefing yesterday.
Mississippi is still in the damage assessment phase, according to the governor's news release. FEMA is on the ground assisting in the distribution of 30 generators and fuel, as approximately 153,000 customers in the state are without power. "Weather hazards, debris, and road conditions are making it difficult to restore power," the statement said.
Reeves cautioned residents from traveling or leaving their homes as severe cold continues throughout the week. "Dangerous cold is expected to continue throughout Tuesday morning. Mississippians are encouraged to stay home, stay off the roads, and stay warm," the release said.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey encourages residents to stay home
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey is encouraging residents to stay home after part of the state received 15 inches of snow this weekend.
"So, because of all that, my message to folks becomes very clear: please stay at home," Morrisey said. "Please stay off the road. You know, only go out if you have to."
Crews have been working to restore power across the state, Morrisey said. Over 15,000 utility customers remain without power this morning, according to PowerOutage.US.
Ground delays at Texas, Virginia and New York airports due to snow
There are ground delays at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) due to snow or ice, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The worst delay is at JFK, where departures at the airport are delayed by over four hours. DFW and DCA have three-hour and one-hour delays, respectively.
Video from DFW showed dozens of travelers waiting at the airport amid a slew of cancellations. So far today, the airport has had almost 670 cancellations and 323 delays, per FlightAware.com.
Ground stop issued at Philadelphia airport
A ground stop has been issued at Philadelphia International Airport due to inclement weather, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airport has had over 150 flight cancellations and 170 delays so far today, per FlightAware.com.
Video shows festive Brooklyn snowball fight
People gathered at McCarren Park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn for a massive snowball fight— and a bit of cold weather dancing.
Storm caused most single day flight cancellations since Covid, Duffy says
Yesterday was the largest cancellation day for air travel since March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier today on CNBC. “It was a massive disruption in aviation,” Duffy said.
“Wednesday is our target date to get back to normal,” Duffy said, adding that today is "dig out day."
Today, over 4,000 cancellations have occurred across the country. The transportation secretary said that crews are clearing, salting and putting sand on runways while airports also face staffing issues. Those who are flying later in the week can expect fuller flights as passengers get rebooked.
For road travel, the Department of Transportation has reduced speed limits in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Duffy said that hours of service regulations for truck drivers have been suspended to give them more time to deliver essential supplies following the storm. “Our truck drivers, we’ve cleared the hours of service for them so they can drive a little bit longer on the roadways that are open, so they can get food and other critical assets across the country,” Duffy said.
Duffy also addressed power outages during the storm, citing that over a million people lost power and stressing that it will take “slow and steady work to get everybody back online.” The Department of Energy deployed crews across the country in anticipation of ice and sleet, Duffy said. “But again, this has hit 40 states. I mean, this is a massive storm and so it’s just going to take a little bit longer,” he continued.
Goal is for all NYC services to be back by tomorrow, Mamdani says
All New York City services will hopefully be back by tomorrow after many disruptions following yesterday's snowstorm, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a news briefing this morning.
"Our goal is for all services to be fully restored by tomorrow, with all streets cleared, students back in school in person, and our city back to normal, albeit with a lot of snow piled up," he said.
Today, the New York City ferry, buses and subways are operating, but commuters should allow extra time for their commutes, Mamdani said. The Staten Island ferry is operating on a modified schedule every 20 minutes, he added.
Mamdani is continuing to ask residents to stay off the roads as crews continue working on plowing snow off the streets.
Video shows 'kinda scary but cool' vortex of snow and wind in NYC
A swirling vortex of snow and wind surrounded this New Yorker as they stepped outside to grab lunch. Video captured in midtown Manhattan yesterday shows the "kinda scary" conditions of this weekend's storm.
Kentucky requests resources from nearby states after snowstorm impacts
Kentucky is requesting help from nearby states after the entire state was affected by last weekend's snowstorm.
Some parts of the state received up to a foot of snow, while most of central Kentucky was hit with 4 to 6 inches, Gov. Andy Beshear said during a news briefing this morning.
"Ice accumulations were higher than expected and had the biggest impact," Beshear said. "Some areas got over three-quarters of an inch of ice. That’s enough to bring down tree limbs. Even worse, that’s enough to bring down power lines. It’s caused significant power outages and major impacts on our roadways, especially our overpasses."
The state has requested additional resources from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan to help clear roads and make them safe.
Dangerously cold temperatures are expected tomorrow with wind chills reaching as low as minus 20 degrees, Beshear said. More than 137 warming centers have been opened across the state to take in those who need shelter.
"Tomorrow morning being outside for just 10 to 30 minutes could result in hypothermia or frostbite," Beshear warned. "So, we need everyone to take precautions. We need everyone to avoid spending too much time outside, and make sure you bring in those pets, too."
Over 43,000 utility customers remain without power across the state, according to PowerOutages.com. Crews are working to restore power, Beshear said.
Winter storm could have ‘substantial’ drag on Q1 GDP
A major winter storm sweeping across large parts of the U.S. could put noticeable pressure on economic growth early this year.
Economists at Bank of America estimate that Winter Storm Fern could shave roughly 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points off economic growth in the first quarter of 2026. The hit, which the bank described as "substantial," would largely reflect slower consumer spending and broader disruptions tied to severe weather.
The expected storm-related slowdown would follow a period of strong momentum for the U.S. economy after gross domestic product growth, a broad measure of economic activity, reached 4.4% in the third quarter of last year. Early projections from the Atlanta Fed estimate fourth-quarter GDP growth at an even stronger 5.4%.
Bank of America’s estimates draw on historical parallels to Winter Storm Viola, which struck the U.S. in February 2021. In both cases, roughly half the country was placed under a winter weather advisory.
While Viola caused widespread damage in parts of the South and prolonged power outages in Texas, the firm said regions affected by Winter Storm Fern are generally better prepared — even as heavier snowfall in the Northeast introduces new economic risks. During the 2021 storm, consumer spending fell sharply, with card data showing a pronounced dip during the storm week followed by a partial rebound in subsequent weeks.
Bank of America said winter storms typically create a temporary drag on growth, rather than a lasting slowdown. While some output may be permanently lost, economists expect much of the weakness to be offset by stronger activity later in the year, particularly in the second quarter, which runs from April through June.
The firm said it plans to refine its GDP estimates next week once more detailed card spending data becomes available.
Storm death toll rises to 13
Four new confirmed deaths bring the death toll for this weekend's severe weather and extreme cold to 13.
A 17-year-old male in Arkansas died in an ATV accident while participating in snow day activities on Saturday, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. "Preliminary information indicates the juvenile was being pulled by an ATV when he struck a tree, resulting in critical injuries," the release said.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office in Pennsylvania confirmed three deaths from over the weekend, where individuals were reportedly engaged in snow shoveling or snow cleanup prior to experiencing a medical emergency.
The decedents ranged in age from 60 to 84 years old, according to a release from the coroner's office.
"These incidents are consistent with sudden medical events, often cardiac-related, that can occur during strenuous activity such as snow removal, particularly in older adults or those with underlying health conditions," the release explained.
Almost 4,000 flights canceled and 1,842 delayed
Almost 4,000 flights traveling into, from and within the U.S. have been canceled and 1,842 have been delayed today, according to FlightAware.com.
Northeast airports are in the lead, with Boston Logan International Airport accounting for 507 cancellations and 48 delays, John F. Kennedy International Airport with 443 cancellations and 54 delays, and LaGuardia Airport with 428 cancellations and 50 delays.
American Airlines accounts for most of the flight woes, with 654 cancellations and 353 delays.
Millions across U.S. dig out of snow after deadly winter storm
Millions of Americans remain hunkered down after a deadly winter storm barreled across the country, killing at least nine people. Now, the freezing temperatures are putting nearly 200 million under cold alerts. Parts of the country were buried in at least 20 inches of snow while a combination of freezing rain and ice knocked down power lines and left nearly 1 million without power in dangerously cold conditions.
More than 200 million under alerts for severe cold
Though the snow might be on its way out, more than 200 million people are still under cold alerts, touching almost every state east of the Rockies and outside New England.
In Minnesota, wind chills of minus 40 degrees are being recorded in Duluth and minus 26 in Minneapolis, with minus 16 in Chicago and minus 26 further south in St. Louis, Missouri.
Record temperature lows are expected this morning across Texas and into the mid-South, including Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, in Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Even highs are forecast 20 to 30 degrees below average, likely failing to rebound much during the afternoon.
The intense cold is set to continue all week, meaning those who lost power in the storm face several frigid days in their homes.
Snow records tumble across major cities
Yesterday was the first time since January 2016 that Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston all picked up at least 6 inches of snow in the same day.
A food cart in New York City during a snowstorm yesterday. Andres Kudacki / Getty Images
If Boston totals more than 22.4 inches, that will crack its top 10 for the largest two-day snowstorms.
The most snow (23 inches) fell in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with 20.5 inches in Middleton, Massachusetts. Meanwhile a Jan. 25 record of 11.4 inches fell in New York City’s Central Park.
Snow wasn’t the only concern. A full inch of ice was recorded in Cherokee, Alabama; Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; Rayville, Louisiana; Idabel, Oklahoma, and Oxford, Rolling Fork and Lexington, Mississippi.
Widespread snow has ended, but lake effect could still cause flurries in New York state
While widespread snow has stopped in parts of the Northeast, there will be some heavy lake-effect snow across areas east of Ontario Lake tomorrow through Thursday, the National Weather Service office in Buffalo said this morning.
The weather service says this band of precipitation would be lessened by the ice on Lake Erie, but not eliminated.
And it will be a cold one tonight, with temperatures reaching minus 24 around and to the south of Buffalo when factoring in the wind chill.
Body of missing teacher found in Kansas
A Kanas elementary school teacher who went missing Friday was found dead 300 yards from where she was last seen on video, police said.
Rebecca Rauber, 28, was last seen at 11:44 p.m. having left a bar in Emporia, around 70 miles northeast of Wichita. Emporia Police Department said in a statement that a dog volunteer group, K-9 Search & Rescue of Kansas, found the body covered in snow in a nearby wooded area yesterday.
“Rebecca may have succumbed to hypothermia early on in her disappearance,” police said. “Next of Kin has been notified. We want to thank our community for the outpouring of care and assistance during this situation.”
Rauber was a second grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School, according to the Emporia Public Schools website, which said that “all who were touched by her life and dedication to education” were “deeply saddened.” It called her a “valued member of our school community, and her loss is felt deeply across our district.”
So far there have been nine confirmed deaths attributed to the winter storm.
East Coast metro transportation struggles back into life
Buses in Washington, D.C., were suspended for an additional two hours this morning, a sign of transportation services across the East struggling to get going in the face of extreme conditions.
Buses in the capital were due to resume at 6 a.m., having been suspended since 9 p.m. yesterday. But an hour beforehand, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced an additional delay of 2 hours, to 8 a.m., “due to the hazardous road conditions.”
In New Jersey, regular trains and buses would remain suspended today, with only the city’s three light rail lines resuming as normal, according to NJ Transit.
A subway station in Brooklyn, New York City, yesterday. Spencer Platt / Getty Images
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority meanwhile said that subways and buses would run a normal rush hour service this morning, with the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road on a weekend service.
In Boston, all subway, rail and bus services were listed as running a regular service according to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, apart from the Mattapan Trolley which was being replaced by a shuttle bus.
5 New Yorkers died while 'outside,' Mayor Mamdani says
The bodies of five New Yorkers were “found outside” even before the first snowfall began Saturday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani told a press conference yesterday.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a salt depot in New York on Saturday. Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images
“It is still too early to say what the cause of death was for any of the five of them,” the mayor told a news conference yesterday. “And it seems at this moment that we do not think any of them were homeless.”
He added: “We mourn the loss of any and every New Yorker, and we are keeping those five New Yorkers in our thoughts, as well as their friends and their family.”
As it’s unclear how they died, the five deaths are not included in NBC News' tally of nine fatalities attributed to the storm so far.
Store manager carries ‘frozen’ woman from outside during Texas winter storm
Mirza Hussain, affectionately known as Faris, manager of Evan’s Food Mart in Fort Worth, Texas, rescued one of his regular customers from the freezing cold Saturday morning.
“It was just it was so intense because a guy came inside like, ‘Hey man, she’s across the street frozen,’” Hussain said.
Hussain, who said he’s worked at the store for five years, knows all of his customers. He told NBC 5 that a woman named Bobby spent the night outside overnight Saturday as the winter storm moved in, because she had nowhere to go.
He said his “hands were shivering" when he went outside to get her. "That just instantly got to me, and I was like, what is she going through?” Hussain said.
Bobby is experiencing homelessness, according to Hussain.
Security video outside the store captured him carrying her from the cold and into the store. Hussain called Forth Worth police and medics arrived shortly after to take Bobby to the hospital.
“She was already screaming like, ‘Oh, you saved my life!,” Hussain said.
In Southwest Fort Worth, near the small convenience store, Hussain said there are many people experiencing homelessness.
“If you drive around this block alone, you’ll see about 10, 15 people maybe just outside, blankets covered and everything because they don’t have a place to go,” he said.
As snow and ice lie coated roads and sidewalks outside the food mart, it’s a chilling reminder for Hussain that some of his customers might still be in the thick of it.
“Everybody that you see on the streets has a backstory and as to why they ended up on the streets,” Hussain said. “Just be kind to everybody.”
The city of Fort Worth has overnight emergency shelters for people who need a place to go.
DoorDash suspends deliveries in New York City
DoorDash has suspended deliveries in New York City in response to the winter storm, the company said in a statement.
The company's “severe weather protocol” will remain in place until at least 10 a.m. today, “depending on conditions on the ground, it said.
“Due to hazardous conditions, including snow and ice brought by this unprecedented winter storm, we’ve activated our Severe Weather Protocol and temporarily suspended operations in New York City,” spokesperson Jenn Rosenberg was quoted as saying. “We encourage everyone in affected areas to follow local guidance and take necessary precautions, and we will resume operations as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
The company suspended operations in northwest Texas on Friday and Saturday in response to extreme conditions there.
Flights expected to increase at Dulles now that snow has stopped
Washington Dulles International Airport said fights should increase today now the snow and heavy sleet has stopped falling.
The “challenging conditions” and “several inches” of snow saw “most flights canceled for the day, with few exceptions,” the airport said in a statement last night.
“The airport snow team worked throughout the day and evening to clear and de-ice the airfield,” it added. “With precipitation ended, airline flight operations should gradually increase beginning on Monday.”
Interactive map shows snowplow activity in NYC
New Yorkers can check how recently their street has been plowed with an interactive map built by the city’s Sanitation Department.
The interactive map by New York's Sanitation Department. Plow NYC
The website Plow NYC gives a color-coded overview of the city: Green means a street was cleared 0-1 hours ago, blue 1-3 hours, yellow 3-6 hours and so on.
“Salt spreaders are now spreading. Snowplows are now plowing. See where they have been at nyc.gov/PlowNYC,” DSNY said in a post on X.
"This is thanks to the extraordinary efforts of @NYCSanitation workers driving 2,000+ plows," Mark D. Levine, city comptroller, said in a post.
'Bone-chilling' minus 34 recorded at Watertown International Airport in upstate New York
A new record low temperature was set at Watertown International Airport, in Jefferson County, New York, the National Weather Service said.
Watertown International Airport in Jefferson County on Saturday. Watertown International Airport / via Facebook
The temperature dropped to minus 34 degrees Saturday, colder than the previous 2003 record of minus 31, the the agency said.
The wind chill was a “bone-chilling” minus 47 degrees, the airport said in a Facebook post.
Massive winter storm brings heavy snow, dangerous cold to millions
Millions were under winter weather alerts yesterday as 23 states declared emergencies as a winter storm brought dangerous cold and snow from the South to the Northeast.
Death toll rises to nine following Texas sledding incident
The nationwide death toll attributed to the storm has now risen to nine, local officials said.
One of the newly announced fatalities came yesterday in a sledding accident in Frisco, Texas, north of Dallas, involving two 16-year-old girls being pulled by a 16-year-old boy driving a Jeep Wrangler, according to a "preliminary investigation" by police.
Witnesses saw the sled being pulled by a vehicle before it collided with a curb and then a tree, the Frisco Police Department said in a statement. Both girls were taken to hospital, where one died and the other remains in a critical condition, the statement said, adding the incident remains “under active investigation.”
Of the other nationwide deaths attributed to the storm, another one happened in Texas, three in Tennessee, two in Louisiana, one in Kansas and one in Massachusetts, officials in those places said.
Firefighters rescue dozens from boats and docks near Little Rock
Rescuers evacuated six people from two residential boats near Little Rock, Arkansas, overnight, as well as 22 people from a nearby dock, after a dock collapsed in heavy snow.
West Pulaski Fire said in a statement that the rescued people were "evacuated all to their vehicles as the docks were deemed unsafe from the first one collapsing. Several boat docks, businesses, and other structures suffered damage from heavy snow."
There were no injuries reported.
More than 3,500 flights canceled today
The winter storm continues to play havoc with travel plans across the nation, with more than 3,500 expected flight cancellations today according to FlightAware's so-called MiseryMap.
A snow removal machine at LaGuardia Airport in New York City yesterday. Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images
As many as 645 flights are also delayed, showing that the relatively few scheduled flights that are due to take off will be behind schedule.
Seven dead as 185 million face winter alerts in central, eastern U.S. states
The dangerous winter storm in the central and eastern United States has led to at least seven deaths. Roughly 185 million people were under winter alerts, and thousands were without power. The storm has also caused about 12,000 scheduled flights to be canceled.
