Winter Storm Fern Pummels U.S. with Historic Snow and Ice
Making the most of the historic snowfall from Winter Storm Fern, a snowboarder catches air in front of a snow-covered Woodrow Wilson Hall on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia on Sunday, January 25, 2026. (Landon Shackelford/AKSM Photography)
Winter Storm Fern has crippled the U.S. with record snow, catastrophic ice, and mass power outages ahead of a life-threatening deep freeze.
Article by Maddie Tyler, Chief Senior News Editor
NEW YORK - A monstrous winter system, dubbed Winter Storm Fern, has brought the eastern two-thirds of the United States to a standstill today, dumping record-breaking snow across the Midwest and Northeast while coating the Deep South in a catastrophic layer of ice.
Meteorologists describe the storm as a "once-in-a-decade" event, with a footprint stretching over 2,000 miles from New Mexico to Maine. As of Sunday evening, more than 300 million people remain under winter weather alerts, and officials warn that the worst may not be over as temperatures are expected to plummet to life-threatening lows overnight.
The storm has lived up to its dire forecasts, delivering the most significant snowfall many cities have seen in over five years.
Philadelphia recorded 7.4 inches at the International Airport by mid-day, marking its largest single-day snowfall since 2021. In New York, the Bronx reported 11 inches of accumulation, while Manhattan's Central Park struggled under a heavy white blanket that shut down Citi Bike services and closed public libraries. Portions of Massachusetts and Connecticut are bracing for up to two feet of snow, with Bridgeport already reporting 13 inches. Cities like Little Rock, Arkansas (6 inches), and Kansas City (5.2 inches) broke daily snowfall records that had stood since the mid-20th century.
While the North grappled with snow, the South faced a far more "crippling" threat. Freezing rain and sleet have coated the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast in up to 0.75 inches of ice.
The weight of the accretion has caused widespread infrastructure failure. More than 1 million customers are currently without power, with Tennessee and Mississippi bearing the brunt of the outages. Governors in 20 states, including Texas, Georgia, and Virginia, have declared States of Emergency to mobilize National Guard units for search and rescue operations.
"The situation is expected to get worse before it gets better," warned Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. "Restoring power in these conditions could take days, not hours."
The storm’s impact on the nation’s transit has been historic. Over 10,000 flights were canceled on Sunday alone, with major hubs in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York effectively shuttered.
Thousands of accidents were reported across the I-95 corridor and the Deep South. In Tennessee, officials reported over 160 weather-related crashes in a single afternoon. Tragically, the storm has been linked to at least 12 fatalities. This includes five individuals found in New York City amid plunging temperatures and two deaths from hypothermia in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that a "brutal" arctic air mass is trailing the storm. Subzero temperatures are forecast for much of the country through Tuesday, which will likely flash-freeze the slush and ice, making recovery efforts even more hazardous.
Residents are urged to remain indoors, check on vulnerable neighbors, and keep emergency kits stocked as the nation settles into what is shaping up to be the most severe weather event of the decade.