A powerful and historic winter storm sweeping across much of the United States has claimed at least 10 lives, knocked out power to over a million homes and businesses, forced massive flight cancellations and left officials urging residents to stay off the roads as dangerously cold conditions persist into the week.
The Winter Storm Fern has dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain from the southern Plains to the Northeast, creating hazardous travel conditions and widespread disruption. The US National Weather Service warned that an Arctic air mass trailing the system will drive temperatures to perilously low levels for days, prolonging the impacts on daily life.
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed that five people were found dead outdoors over the weekend amid subzero temperatures. Authorities are investigating the exact causes of death, but exposure to the extreme cold is suspected.
The storm has also hit the South hard, with officials in Texas reporting three deaths, including a 16-year-old girl who died in a sledding accident, and the Louisiana health department reporting two fatalities from hypothermia.
Across the country, more than a million people are without electricity, with the hardest-hit areas including Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, where massive ice accumulation brought down power lines. Officials warn that restoring power may take several days given the severity of the outages.
The storm has also disrupted travel on an unprecedented scale. According to flight tracking data, thousands of flights have been cancelled — with more than 11,000 scrapped over the weekend and continued delays into Monday. Major hubs from Boston and New York to Dallas and Atlanta have seen significant cancellations, leaving travellers stranded and airports struggling to resume normal operations.
Emergency declarations have been issued in more than a dozen states, with governors activating National Guard troops and urging residents to stay indoors and off icy roads, as even cleared highways remain dangerously slick. Schools and universities from the South to the Northeast have closed or switched to remote instruction, and public transit services have been reduced in several major cities.
Forecasters say snowfall totals of up to 18 inches are possible in parts of the Northeast in the coming days, while dangerously low wind chill values could make outdoor exposure life-threatening without proper protection.
Officials continue to warn that the worst of the storm may not yet be over, urging people to prepare for continued cold, hazardous conditions and disruptions to transportation and power services.
