Developing in part from an upper-level low on January 22, the system steadily moved eastwards across the Central United States, dropping a very large swath of wintry precipitation. By January 25, the winter storm had moved into the Northeast, where it began to transition into a nor’easter. Gusty winds and heavy snow continued to occur in New England, even as it pulled away from the coastline the following day, leaving parts of North America with a mix of rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow. Meteorologists described the storm as “potentially historic” in its impact, with the storm at one point encompassing nearly 3,200 km of length from the Mexico–United States border well into Canada. Twenty-four U.S. state governors issued emergency declarations in response. Winter weather alerts were also issued across a similar length of terrain, affecting up to 230 million people. The impending storm caused over 10,000 flights nationwide in the United States to be cancelled or postponed. Travel bans were enacted in numerous states as well. The storm was unofficially namedWinter Storm Fern by The Weather Channel. As of January 26, 50 fatalities had been confirmed due to the storm. Over a million customers lost power, mostly concentrated within the South where a damaging and crippling ice storm occurred, causing power lines and trees to snap and break under the weight. Icy conditions also led to hazardous travel afterwards. Overall, a large swath of snowfall ranging from 30–61 cm occurred from Texas to Maine, and in some cases (particularly in the South) broke daily snowfall records. In the Mid-Atlantic states and Northeast, where the storm became a nor’easter, several locations along the Interstate 95 corridor, specifically Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City, saw their heaviest snowfall accumulation from this storm in five years since a nor’easter in February 2021.
The January 2026 North American winter storm was an expansive, deadly and major winter and ice storm that affected much of North America across regions stretching from Northern Mexico to the Southern and Northeastern United States as well as Canada in late January.
Developing in part from an upper-level low on January 22, the system steadily moved eastwards across the Central United States, dropping a very large swath of wintry precipitation. By January 25, the winter storm had moved into the Northeast, where it began to transition into a nor’easter. Gusty winds and heavy snow continued to occur in New England, even as it pulled away from the coastline the following day, leaving parts of North America with a mix of rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow. Meteorologists described the storm as “potentially historic” in its impact, with the storm at one point encompassing nearly 3,200 km of length from the Mexico–United States border well into Canada. Twenty-four U.S. state governors issued emergency declarations in response. Winter weather alerts were also issued across a similar length of terrain, affecting up to 230 million people. The impending storm caused over 10,000 flights nationwide in the United States to be cancelled or postponed. Travel bans were enacted in numerous states as well. The storm was unofficially named Winter Storm Fern by The Weather Channel. As of January 26, 50 fatalities had been confirmed due to the storm. Over a million customers lost power, mostly concentrated within the South where a damaging and crippling ice storm occurred, causing power lines and trees to snap and break under the weight. Icy conditions also led to hazardous travel afterwards. Overall, a large swath of snowfall ranging from 30–61 cm occurred from Texas to Maine, and in some cases (particularly in the South) broke daily snowfall records. In the Mid-Atlantic states and Northeast, where the storm became a nor’easter, several locations along the Interstate 95 corridor, specifically Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City, saw their heaviest snowfall accumulation from this storm in five years since a nor’easter in February 2021.
Links:
Monster winter storm threatens half of US with at least 16 states declaring emergencies
US braces for ‘extremely dangerous’ winter storm
Noodtoestand en geannuleerde vluchten: VS bereidt zich voor op extreem weer
Zeker acht doden in VS door extreem winterweer
Ruim miljoen huishoudens zonder stroom in VS, Amerikaanse media melden 5 doden
De wereld warmt op en toch extreme kou in de VS?
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