A winter storm sweeping across the United States has left more than 160,000 people without electricity and forced the cancellation of thousands of flights, disrupting travel and daily life nationwide.
Electricity outages expanded rapidly on Saturday, reaching as far west as Texas. Data from PowerOutage.com showed that most affected customers were located in Texas and Louisiana by late evening.
The US Department of Energy issued an emergency order allowing Texas grid operators to deploy backup power at data centres and other critical facilities to prevent wider blackouts.
Federal Emergency Declarations Issued
Calling the storm “historic,” Donald Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations for multiple states, including South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
Trump said the federal government would stay engaged with states in the storm’s path and urged Americans to remain cautious as temperatures plunge.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that 17 states and Washington, D.C. have declared weather emergencies. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said utility crews are working around the clock to restore power in affected regions.
The National Weather Service warned that snow, sleet, freezing rain, and extreme cold will affect much of the eastern two-thirds of the country through early next week. Forecasters cautioned that heavy ice accumulation in the southeastern US could cause crippling to locally catastrophic impacts, while record-low temperatures and dangerous wind chills move into the Great Plains by Monday.
Air Travel Severely Disrupted
Air travel was disrupted across the country as the storm intensified. By late Saturday, more than 4,000 US flights had been cancelled, according to FlightAware. Airlines have already cancelled more than 9,400 flights scheduled for Sunday.
Delta Air Lines said it continues to adjust schedules, with further cancellations expected in Atlanta and along the East Coast, including Boston and New York. The airline also repositioned cold-weather crews to support de-icing operations at southern airports.
JetBlue confirmed it has cancelled about 1,000 flights through Monday, warning of additional disruptions. United Airlines said it proactively cancelled flights in areas forecast to face the most severe weather.
A massive winter storm is slamming large swaths of the U.S., causing power outages for millions and causing the activation of the National Guard in multiple states.
ABC News' Morgan Norwood reports. Watch live coverage on ABC. https://t.co/OB1jCxENYw pic.twitter.com/qZj4tGQpvj
— ABC News (@ABC) January 25, 2026Electric grid operators increased precautionary measures to avoid rotating outages. Dominion Energy, which supplies power to major data centres in Virginia, warned the storm could rank among the largest winter events to impact its operations.
Kristi Noem urged Americans to prepare for prolonged cold and disruptions. She advised households to stock up on food and fuel and limit unnecessary travel until conditions improve. Authorities said emergency crews remain fully mobilised as the storm continues to evolve.
