Deadly historic winter storm: Ice leaves life-threatening power outages across South, snow buries Northeast
The system carved a destructive 2,300-mile path across the nation, leaving behind life-threatening power outages across the South and the heaviest snow totals that many Northeast states have seen in half a decade.
Deadly winter storm: Ice leaves life-threatening power outages across South, snow buries Northeast
A deadly and historic winter storm is entering its final act in New England on Monday. The system carved a destructive 2,300-mile path across the nation, leaving behind life-threatening power outages across the South and the heaviest snow totals that many Northeast states have seen in half a decade.
A deadly and historic winter storm is entering its final act in New England on Monday. The system carved a destructive 2,300-mile path across the nation, leaving behind life-threatening power outages across the South and the heaviest snow totals that many Northeast states have seen in half a decade.
LIVE UPDATES: DEADLY WINTER STORM BLASTS AMERICA WITH CATASTROPHIC ICE, EXTREME SNOW
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Image 1 of 11LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - JANUARY 25: A pedestrian walks through snowy conditions on January 25, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky. A massive winter storm is bringing frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to nearly 200 million Americans. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
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Image 2 of 11NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 25: A taxi driver clears snow off his cab while stopped at a traffic light on Fifth Avenue during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
![NEW YORK, NEW YORK- JANUARY 25: A passerby crosses the street during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026 in New York City. A low-pressure system is sweeping across the eastern two-thirds of the country, from Texas to New York, dumping up to two feet of snow, coupled with high winds and freezing temperatures, causing flight delays and cancellations in many regions.]()
Image 3 of 11NEW YORK, NEW YORK- JANUARY 25: A passerby crosses the street during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026 in New York City. A low-pressure system is sweeping across the eastern two-thirds of the country, from Texas to New York, dumping up to two feet of snow, coupled with high winds and freezing temperatures, causing flight delays and cancellations in many regions. ((Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images))
![NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: Workers clear Times Square of snow during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026 in New York City. A massive winter storm is bringing frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to nearly 200 million Americans.]()
Image 4 of 11NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: Workers clear Times Square of snow during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026 in New York City. A massive winter storm is bringing frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to nearly 200 million Americans. ((Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images))
![A worker clears snow off a sidewalk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 25, 2026.]()
Image 5 of 11A worker clears snow off a sidewalk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 25, 2026. ((Photo by Matthew HATCHER / AFP via Getty Images))
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Image 6 of 11Snow covers cars parked on the street in New York City. (FOX Weather)
![The Mississippi Highway Patrol reported downed trees and ice on Interstate 20 in Warren County in the western part of the state.]()
Image 7 of 11The Mississippi Highway Patrol reported downed trees and ice on Interstate 20 in Warren County in the western part of the state. (Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop C Enforcement Division/Facebook)
![The Tennessee Valley Authority, a major utility across the South, said freezing rain and sleet caused power interruptions across both TVA-owned transmission lines and local distribution networks in northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and parts of East Tennessee.]()
Image 8 of 11The Tennessee Valley Authority, a major utility across the South, said freezing rain and sleet caused power interruptions across both TVA-owned transmission lines and local distribution networks in northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and parts of East Tennessee. (TVAnews/X)
![Ice covers Lebanon, Tennessee Sunday morning.]()
Image 9 of 11Ice covers Lebanon, Tennessee Sunday morning. (Toby Casillas)
![Ice takes down tree in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday.]()
Image 10 of 11Ice takes down tree in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday. (Heather G.)
![WASHINGTON- A man walks along the National Mall as snow falls in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2026.]()
Image 11 of 11WASHINGTON- A man walks along the National Mall as snow falls in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2026. ((Photo by Amid FARAHI / AFP via Getty Images))
At its peak Sunday afternoon, more than a million customers were without power in the South—primarily across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky—as crippling ice snapped swaths of trees and brought down power lines.
Meanwhile, nearly a foot of snow was tallied across the Interstate 95 corridor in the Northeast; more than 18 states totaled more than a foot of snow by early Monday.
(FOX Weather)
Air travel across the nation ground to a halt, with thousands of canceled flights through the weekend.
Concern now turns to a dome of Arctic air associated with the polar vortex, which will bring days of life-threatening temperatures to much of the country.
The Arctic air will refreeze existing ice and snow, and potentially exacerbate outages, particularly the prolonged outages expected in the Southern tier.
At least 22 deaths have been attributed to the massive system across 10 states, as response and recovery operations are underway in the aftermath of the historic winter storm.
The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed five storm-related deaths Monday evening.
A snow plow near a fallen tree and electrical pole during a winter storm in east Nashville, Tennessee, US, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026.
(Photographer: Kate Dearman/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Cold weather deaths were reported in northern Louisiana, Emporia, Kansas and Austin, Texas.
In Frisco, Texas, a 16-year-old girl died, and another teen remains in critical condition after a sledding accident. Local police said the two sledders were being pulled by an SUV and struck a tree.
At the time of the accident, about an inch of sleet was on the ground, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
In Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, the coroner's office said three people died in separate medical incidents while they were cleaning up snow on Sunday.
METAIRIE, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 22: An aerial view of snow covered homes in Metairie, La., a suburb of New Orleans along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain on January 22, 2025.
(Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) confirmed a third winter storm-related death, after announcing two people died of hypothermia on Sunday. The LDH announced an 86-year-old man in DeSoto Parish died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, raising the death toll to three in Louisiana.
Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority police told FOX Weather that a non-MBTA snowplow struck a married couple that was walking in a MBTA parking lot Sunday. The wife died of her injuries.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced on social media that a 72-year-old woman in Whitley County died from hypothermia, the states first confirmed winter storm-related death.
This comes as the Arkansas Department of Public Safety announced another death involving an ATV, as a 40-year-old male near Hope died, raising the state's winter storm-related death toll to 2.
A 67-year-old man was pronounced dead in Verona, New Jersey after local police found him unresponsive on a sidewalk with a shovel in hand.
The South Carolina Department of Health confirmed a 96-year-old female died of hypothermia in Greenwood County.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK- JANUARY 25: A passerby crosses the street during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026 in New York City.
((Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
New York City is investigating seven deaths that are potentially weather-related.
"At this time, what we know is a number of those seven New Yorkers who lost their lives had interactions with our shelter system in the past," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a Monday morning news conference.
"It is still too early to share a broader diagnosis or a cause of death," Mamdani said when asked about whether those killed were homeless.
"We haven't seen this kind of cold in eight years, and it is debilitating," Mamdani added.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves confirmed two deaths in his state — one in Hinds County and one in Tishomingo County — caused by the winter storm.
(FOX Weather)
More than 800,000 customers remain without power as of early Monday, with the majority concentrated in Tennessee and Mississippi.
Trees came crashing down in Nashville Sunday, as ice accumulations reached 0.5 inches and power outages mounted across the metro area through the day.
Ice Storm ravages Mississippi
A crippling ice storm ravaged Mississippi leading to widespread power outages and downed trees across the state. FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell is live from Oxford, Mississippi, where a shelter in place has been ordered as power crews struggle to restore service.
An inch of ice accretion was reported over the weekend in both Belzoni and Rolling Fork, Mississippi, as well as parts of Alabama and South Carolina.
An inch of ice accumulation can cause major structural failures in power grids.
FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell said on Sunday that iced-over trees snapped throughout Oxford, Mississippi in the North Central Hills part of the state.
Campbell said the falling trees sounded like gunshots as limbs took down power lines. The city has issued shelter-in-place orders and warned residents to be prepared for a multi-day outage, as temperatures continue to plummet.
(FOX Weather)
According to the FOX Forecast Center, nearly 50 record low temperatures are possible Monday morning across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, with temperatures dropping into the teens and single digits in some locations.
Extreme Cold Warnings are in effect for major southern cities, including Dallas, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Arkansas, and New Orleans.
(FOX Weather)
In the Northeast, New York City recorded 11.4 inches of snow in Central Park. Philadelphia tallied 9.3 inches of snow, while Baltimore totaled 11.1 inches—the first double-digit snow event for the city since 2016.
Meanwhile, Boston sat at 16.7 inches of snow early Monday with more in the forecast. Snow is expected to linger across parts of New England through the rest of the day, as the devastating system finally moves off the East Coast.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: Workers clear Times Square of snow during a snowstorm on January 25, 2026 in New York City. A massive winter storm is bringing frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to nearly 200 million Americans.
((Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Extreme Cold Warnings are also in effect from Minneapolis through Chicago and into northern New England, morning low temperatures will fall into the single digits and even below zero, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
(FOX Weather)
"For the remainder of the week, northern regions will stay roughly 10 to 15 degrees below average," the Forecast Center said Monday.
"Cities like New York will see high temperatures remain in the 20s through next weekend, with Boston experiencing similar conditions."