United States Hit by a Severe Winter Storm

A winter storm in the United States has created dangerous conditions across a vast area stretching from Texas to New England. Due to the natural disaster sweeping from the South to the Northeast on Sunday, a large number of flights were canceled. Authorities have urged people to stay off the roads. Power outages were reported in many areas as the storm intensified.

The storm brought widespread snowfall, hail, and freezing rain. Officials warned that Arctic cold air behind the storm could drive temperatures down to dangerously low levels for several days, potentially causing prolonged disruptions to daily life.

The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) said the effects of snow and hail are expected to persist throughout the coming week, leaving roads and sidewalks icy for extended periods.

The storm has also caused fatalities. Louisiana’s health department reported that two people died from hypothermia. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said five bodies were found outside the city over the weekend amid the freezing weather, though he did not confirm whether the deaths were directly weather-related.

PowerOutage.com reported that as the storm intensified on Saturday, the southern United States experienced most of the power disruptions, and by Sunday afternoon more than 10 million customers nationwide were without electricity. In Tennessee, ice accumulation snapped power lines, leaving more than 300,000 residential and commercial customers without power. Such storms are relatively rare in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, yet each state saw hundreds of thousands of customers lose electricity. The outages are particularly dangerous for the South, which is less accustomed to extreme cold.

The NWS warned that the severe cold could set new records. Authorities from Texas to North Carolina and New York urged residents to stay indoors due to hazardous conditions. Texas’ emergency management department posted on social media platform X advising people not to go outside unless absolutely necessary.

On Sunday, the storm moved toward the Northeast, bringing snow and hail to densely populated cities such as Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. A state of emergency has been declared in at least 20 states and in Washington, D.C. Residents of the capital woke up to several inches of snow covering sidewalks and roads, accompanied by heavy hail.

Federal offices were closed in advance for Monday. Nearly all flights scheduled for that day were canceled at several major airports in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. Flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that more than 11,000 flights were canceled across the United States on Sunday, following over 4,000 cancellations the previous day. Nearly 2,500 flights had already been canceled for Monday.

From the White House, President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, “We are in contact with all the states in the path of this storm and are monitoring the situation.” He urged everyone to stay safe and warm.