Memphis is on high alert this evening as a potent cold front triggers a Level 3 of 5 for severe weather.
The FOX Forecast Center expects a dangerous line of storms to sweep through the metro area between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., bringing the threat of destructive straight-line winds reaching up to 75 mph and embedded, quick spin-up tornadoes.
Residents are being urged to secure loose outdoor items and finalize their safety plans before the dinnertime window, as the environment is primed for significant intensity.
Adding to the volatility, temperatures are expected to plummet by nearly 40 degrees immediately following the storm's passage, shifting the region from tropical humidity to a hard freeze by morning.
The blizzard is set to rage across the Upper Midwest through Sunday night as the powerful storm shifts into its most intense phase.
Right now, the exclusive FOX Weather Model shows a dangerous combination of heavy snow and wind gusts reaching 50–60 mph from Minneapolis down to Sioux Falls and Kansas City, which will continue to trigger widespread whiteout conditions and drifting.
As the system pulls eastward tonight, cities like Des Moines, Chicago, and Indianapolis will be caught in the crosshairs of the transition zone, facing a punishing mix of rain, ice, and high winds.
With gusts expected to stay above 40 mph through the overnight hours, travel will remain life-threatening across the heart of the country well into Monday morning.
The sheer power of this storm is on full display today as it creates a dramatic, high-stakes weather divide across the Heartland.
In Iowa, residents are facing Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for intense rain and damaging winds, while a mere 40 miles away, the atmosphere is cold enough to transform that same moisture into a major blizzard.
This narrow transition zone highlights the extreme energy of the storm, where spring-like severe weather and a full-blown winter emergency are separated by less than an hour's drive.
It’s a vivid example of the battle of air masses that makes this storm so historic.
{{#rendered}}The small town of Millville, Minnesota, has been blanketed by 17.0 inches of snow, marking it as one of the hardest-hit spots in the state during this historic March blizzard.
Situated in the Zumbro River Valley, Millville is sitting directly under an intense snow band that is dumping several inches per hour, quickly surpassing the foot-and-a-half mark this morning.
Conditions in Wabasha County have been described as "treacherous" by local authorities, as the heavy snow combined with wind gusts of nearly 50 mph has led to widespread whiteouts and drifting.
For a town that usually sees its heaviest snow earlier in the winter, this 17-inch wallop serves as a stark reminder that March in Minnesota often saves its biggest punch for last.
Nelson, Wisconsin, has now checked in with a staggering 19.0 inches of snow as the heaviest snow tracks directly across Buffalo County.
If it feels like the weather has shifted into overdrive lately, you aren't imagining it. From record-shattering warmth in the South to deadly tornadoes in the Heartland and 4-foot snowfalls in the Great Lakes, March 2026 is proving to be a month of historic volatility.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, several powerful natural drivers are colliding to create this high-energy pattern.
The primary engine behind this month’s wild swings is a major disruption of the Polar Vortex. Often misunderstood as a single storm, the Polar Vortex is actually a massive, high-altitude "fence" of spinning air that normally keeps frigid Arctic air trapped at the North Pole.
This month, a Sudden Stratospheric Warming event (SSWE) caused that fence to buckle and collapse. When the vortex wobbles or breaks apart, it acts like a hand pushing down on the jet stream, the high-altitude primary driver of our day-to-day weather, forcing it to meander in deep, violent loops.
This wavy jet stream is exactly what allows a 90-degree heat dome to park over the Southwest while simultaneously pulling a bomb cyclone and Arctic air into the Heartland.
March is also the ultimate battleground month. As the sun gets higher in the sky, it begins to bake the Southern Plains and the Gulf of America, while the Arctic remains locked in deep winter.
This year, the contrast is particularly stark. We have seen record-high temperatures—up to 35°F above average—immediately followed by bomb cyclones. When these two extremes meet, the atmosphere works violently to balance the temperature difference, resulting in the massive squall lines and blizzard conditions we are witnessing today.
The fuel for our recent severe weather outbreaks is coming directly from the Gulf of America, where sea surface temperatures are currently at or near record highs for mid-March. This warm water acts like a high-octane battery, pumping significant moisture and heat into the lower atmosphere.
This excess energy is a primary reason why we are seeing rare phenomena like thundersnow in the North and long-track tornadoes in the South; the storms simply have a deeper reservoir of energy to tap into as they develop.
And when a powerful jet stream interacts with these warm-and-cold boundaries, it can trigger bombogenesis—a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure. This process effectively "vacuum-seals" the storm, causing it to tighten and intensify at a staggering rate.
These bomb cyclones are responsible for the 70-mph straight-line winds and the impossible blizzard conditions currently paralyzing the Midwest right now.
{{#rendered}}Travel headaches are worsening at Chicago O'Hare as a fresh ground delay program has pushed average arrival delays over five hours this morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration reports that thunderstorms are significantly reducing the airport's arrivals and departures, leaving thousands of passengers stranded during one of the busiest travel weekends of the month.
The brutal blizzard has effectively paralyzed central Wisconsin this morning as intense snow bands dump 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour on major highways.
With wind gusts reaching 50 mph creating instant whiteout conditions, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is warning that travel is nearly impossible and should be restricted to emergencies only.
The Steele County 911 Center has issued an urgent "no travel" alert, pleading with residents to stay off the roads as blizzard conditions make driving life-threatening in Minnesota.
Officials warn that visibility has dropped to zero and any travel is currently restricted to emergencies only to allow crews to focus on essential rescues.
{{#rendered}}The travel trouble is accelerating this morning as the blizzard bomb intensifies over the Midwest.
As of 9:30 a.m. ET, more than 2,500 U.S. flights have already been disrupted through Monday, according to the latest data from FlightAware.
This staggering total is split almost evenly between 1,267 delays and 1,268 cancellations, with those numbers expected to rise sharply as the core of the storm moves through the Great Lakes.
The heaviest impact remains focused on the Upper Midwest, where Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) continues to see the most significant disruptions, followed closely by Chicago O’Hare (ORD).
While snow and whiteout conditions are the primary culprits in the North, the ripple effect is being felt nationwide as airlines struggle to reposition aircraft and crews ahead of the severe weather outbreak pushing toward the East Coast.
Travel has been brought to a complete standstill across much of South Dakota as blizzard conditions turn major thoroughfares into whiteout zones.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation has taken the extraordinary step of closing hundreds of miles of interstate, citing impossible driving conditions caused by heavy snow and intense wind gusts.
As of Sunday morning, the following major closures remain in effect with no estimated time for reopening:
- Interstate 90: Closed in both directions from Sioux Falls to Wall (a stretch of nearly 300 miles).
- Interstate 29: Closed in both directions from Sioux Falls to the North Dakota state line.
Officials warn that bridges and underpasses are becoming blocked by massive drifts, and visibility is frequently dropping to zero.
In addition to the highway closures, Sioux Falls Regional Airport has shut down entirely, a rare move that underscores the severity of this blizzard
Motorists are being strictly advised not to use secondary highways to bypass these closures, as stranded vehicles only hinder emergency and snow removal efforts.
{{#rendered}}Oronoco, Minnesota, is the latest community to be buried under heavy snow, officially recording 14.0 inches as the blizzard slams the region.
This massive total comes as intense snow bands continue to dump several inches per hour, making travel nearly impossible across southeast Minnesota.
Snow reports are beginning to pour in as the blizzard intensifies, with the highest accumulation currently recorded at 14.9 inches in Montana, Wisconsin.
Located in Buffalo County, Montana is sitting in a prime corridor for heavy banding, where snow has been falling at a rate of nearly 2 inches per hour this morning.
While the Midwest digs out from the blizzard, the East Coast is bracing for a rare and dangerous severe weather outbreak on Monday.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that the threat level has been upgraded to a rare Level 4 out of 5 for a large corridor including Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. This is a serious and uncommon alert for the region, signaling that widespread, intense storms are likely to cause significant damage.
Dangerous ingredients coming together
The atmosphere over the East Coast will be highly energized tomorrow. As a deep storm system pivots toward the Atlantic, it is pulling up warm, humid air that will collide with extreme wind speeds just above the ground.
Meteorologists are tracking extreme shear profiles, which essentially means the winds are changing speed and direction so rapidly that they will easily cause storms to spin. This setup is a classic recipe for powerful tornadoes and long-lived supercell storms that can travel hundreds of miles.
What to expect: Tornadoes and 75-mph winds
For residents from Georgia all the way to Pennsylvania, Monday afternoon will be the most critical window. Two main threats are developing:
- Strong, long-track tornadoes: Conditions are particularly favorable from South Carolina into southern Virginia for supercells that could produce strong tornadoes capable of staying on the ground for a long time.
- Destructive wind line: A robust line of storms will charge east toward the coast, packing particularly damaging winds. Expect gusts to exceed 70–75 mph, which is strong enough to snap large trees and cause widespread power outages across major metro areas.
Timing your Monday
The activity will start early in the morning across the Florida Panhandle and Georgia before intensifying and spreading north throughout the day.
The peak of the event for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast—including cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore—is expected during the late afternoon and early evening hours.
Because these storms will be moving fast (over 50 mph), you may have very little time to react once a warning is issued. Make sure you download the FOX Weather App now and enable critical weather alerts so you can be alerted to severe weather, even while you're sleeping.
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The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a powerful squall line—a long wall of intense thunderstorms—that is expected to ignite this afternoon and race from the Mississippi Valley toward the Appalachians.
The primary threat with this system is destructive straight-line winds, which are expected to peak across northeastern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and Tennessee.
FOX Weather meteorologists warn that while widespread gusts of 60 mph are likely, the most intense parts of the line could see hurricane-force winds exceeding 75 mph, capable of snapping power poles and causing significant property damage.
The danger will increase between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. CT as the storms quickly organize and charge eastward. While the wind is the main event, small but intense tornadoes could also spin up along the leading edge of this fast-moving line.
The threat remains high through the evening hours, eventually shifting into the Deep South overnight.
Thousands of residents across the Midwest and Northeast are still struggling in the dark following Friday’s vicious windstorm, and for many, the situation is about to get much worse.
According to PowerOutage.com, nearly 270,000 customers across the U.S. remain without electricity this morning. This number also includes significant outages in Hawaii due to a Kona Low hammering the islands and preemptive power shutoffs in Colorado due to the threat of wildfires.
Ohio and Pennsylvania are currently bearing the brunt of these outages, with more than 140,000 combined customers still waiting for the lights to come back on after Friday's damaging gusts snapped poles and downed lines.
The timing couldn't be worse for these recovery efforts. As crews work to restore power from the previous storm, the new bomb cyclone is already beginning to lash these same regions. In Michigan and Ohio, where more than 100,000 people remain without power, the forecast now calls for a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain.
This fresh accumulation on already weakened trees and saturated soil will likely lead to a second wave of widespread outages through Monday.
The massive blizzard tearing through the nation’s midsection isn't just a headache for drivers; it’s creating a full-scale meltdown for air travel.
According to FlightAware, more than 2,130 flights have already been disrupted through Monday as heavy snow, ice, and fierce winds make it impossible for many major hubs to operate safely.
Minneapolis and Chicago bear the brunt
As the center of the blizzard hammers the Upper Midwest, Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) has become the epicenter of the travel chaos.
With over 600 cancellations already on the board today, the airport is struggling to keep runways clear amidst snow rates of 2 inches per hour.
Farther south, Chicago’s O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) are facing a double-edged sword: dealing with the blizzard's wind gusts to the north and the threat of severe thunderstorms to the south. Combined, the two Chicago hubs have seen nearly 250 cancellations as the storm system sweeps through the Great Lakes.
A ripple effect from the Heartland to the South
The disruptions aren't limited to the snow zone. Atlanta (ATL), one of the world's busiest airports, is already seeing nearly 100 delays and cancellations as the storm's severe weather side brings the threat of tornadoes and 70-mph winds to the South.
Travelers are being urged to check their flight status before heading to the airport, as the conveyor belt of severe weather is expected to keep flight boards lit up with red canceled text well into Monday night.
{{#rendered}}The FOX Forecast Center warns that as a powerful low-pressure system rapidly intensifies, it will collide with cold Canadian air to dump staggering totals, including 12–18 inches in Minneapolis, up to 2 feet in Green Bay, and a massive 3–4 feet in Marquette, Michigan.
With powerful wind gusts of 60–70 mph expected to create blind whiteouts and widespread power outages, Blizzard Warnings now cover more than 11 million Americans from the Dakotas to Illinois.
While the heaviest snow hammers the north, dangerous ice is expected in areas like Milwaukee and Traverse City, where up to half an inch of freezing rain could coat power lines and roads, paralyzing the region well into the start of the work week.
Southeast Minnesota, central Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are getting hammered this morning with intense, high-impact snow.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that bands of snow are acting like a fire hose over the region, dumping 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour in the heaviest bursts.
This extreme rate is enough to bury car tires in just a few hours and is creating dangerous whiteout conditions for drivers on major interstates.
Residents in southeast Minnesota are being treated to a rare and dramatic weather phenomenon this morning as thundersnow accompanies the arrival of a massive bomb cyclone.
Reports of lightning flashes and loud claps of thunder during intense snow bursts have surfaced along the I-90 corridor, particularly near Rochester and Winona, as the storm system rapidly intensifies over the region.
{{#rendered}}A massive and dangerous weather system is putting more than 200 million Americans on high alert. The FOX Forecast Center warns that a significant severe weather outbreak is brewing, threatening a huge swath of the country from the Heartland all the way to the Atlantic coast.
As a powerful bomb cyclone cranks up over the Midwest, it is pulling a surge of warm, unstable air from the Gulf of America, setting the stage for a volatile 48 hours of strong tornadoes and destructive winds.
Severe threat shifts from the Heartland to the East Coast
The setup for today is widespread and intense as the storm system marches from the Great Plains toward the Great Lakes. The Storm Prediction Center has placed a Level 3 out of 5 risk over the Mid-South and Ohio Valley for Sunday, focusing on cities like Nashville, Indianapolis, Memphis, Louisville, and Little Rock.
The primary concern for most will be a fierce squall line of thunderstorms packing straight-line winds over 70 mph—strong enough to flip semi-trucks and snap power poles.
However, the atmosphere is also primed for spinning storms, meaning tornadoes could embedded within that line or develop as individual, discrete storms ahead of it.
Major risk looms for the I-95 corridor Monday
As the system moves east, the danger level actually climbs. For Monday, the threat has been upgraded to a Level 4 out of 5, a rare and serious designation that now includes Washington, D.C. and surrounding metro areas.
Forecasters are increasingly concerned about the potential for long-track tornadoes—those that stay on the ground for several miles—and even more widespread wind damage.
This isn't just a one-and-done storm; it is a continuous conveyor belt of severe weather that won't let up until late Monday night.
Critical timing: afternoon starts and overnight dangers
The clock starts this afternoon between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. CT, when the first storms are expected to fire up and quickly organize into a solid wall of weather.
A particularly dangerous phase of this event will occur late tonight as the threat shifts into the Deep South. While the main line hammers the north, separate and powerful supercell thunderstorms could develop across the Florida Panhandle, southeastern Alabama, and Georgia during the overnight hours.
This nighttime threat is especially risky, as tornadoes are harder to see and many people may be asleep when warnings are issued.
Millions of Americans are waking up to urgent weather alerts this morning as a massive bomb cyclone begins its assault on the heart of the country.
With approximately 22 million people currently under winter weather alerts, officials are warning that the combined force of record-breaking snow and hurricane-force wind gusts could effectively shut down large swaths of the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains through Monday.
The "bomb" explodes timing and intensity
The storm system, which is undergoing rapid bombogenesis via a sudden and extreme drop in atmospheric pressure, is currently centering its power over the Upper Mississippi Valley.
Meteorologists warn that the worst is yet to come for residents in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas as blizzard conditions reach their height from Sunday afternoon through early Monday morning.
Snow will fall at rates of 2–3 inches per hour in the most intense bands, while gusts of 50–70 mph will create blinding whiteout conditions that will reduce visibility to zero on major transit corridors like I-90 and I-94.
Millions in the crosshairs
The scale of this event is staggering, stretching from the eastern Dakotas to Northern Michigan. Some states are advising everyone to not venture outside, with the Twin Cities and Green Bay bracing for up to 20 inches of snow.
In parts of Northern Michigan, lake-enhanced totals could reach a historic 3 feet, while the Northern Plains face life-threatening wind chills alongside nearly a foot of fresh accumulation.
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