WASHINGTON: A monster winter storm described as “historic” has begun to sweep across the United States, leaving more than 670,000 customers without electricity and forcing the cancellation of nearly 10,000 flights on Sunday.
Forecasters warn that the eastern two-thirds of the nation will face severe conditions, including heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain, and dangerously low temperatures well into the week.
Emergency Declarations and Federal Response
President Donald Trump moved swiftly on Saturday to approve federal emergency disaster declarations for 12 states: 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,” President Trump stated on Truth Social.
In total, 17 states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem urged Americans to take immediate precautions.
“It’s going to be very, very cold,” Noem warned at a Saturday press briefing. “So we’d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together.” She assured the public that utility crews are working to restore services as quickly as possible.
Power Outages and Grid Pressure
As of Sunday morning, PowerOutage.us reported that electricity cuts had affected over 670,000 customers. Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, and Louisiana were hardest hit, each reporting over 100,000 outages. Significant disruptions were also recorded in Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, and as far west as New Mexico.
To mitigate grid failure, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued emergency orders on Saturday authorizing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to deploy backup generation at data centers. On Sunday, a similar order was issued for grid operator PJM Interconnection in the mid-Atlantic region, bypassing certain state and environmental limits to maintain power stability.
Dominion Energy, a key power provider for the world’s largest concentration of data centers in Virginia, warned that if ice forecasts hold, this event could be among the most damaging in the company’s history.
Travel Chaos
The aviation sector has been paralyzed by the severe weather. According to FlightAware, more than 9,990 flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled, following over 4,000 cancellations on Saturday.
Major carriers, including Delta, JetBlue, and United Airlines, have proactively adjusted schedules. Delta announced it is relocating experts from cold-weather hubs to southern airports to assist de-icing and baggage teams. JetBlue confirmed it had already canceled approximately 1,000 flights through Monday.
The National Weather Service continues to warn of “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts” in the Southeast due to heavy ice accumulation, with record-breaking cold expected to descend into the Great Plains by Monday.
