Northeast Faces Deep Freeze Following Colossal Winter Storm

Mon Feb 02 2026 22:13:01 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A powerful winter storm has blanketed the Northeast and other regions of the U.S. with heavy snow and frigid temperatures, causing widespread disruptions in travel and power outages.

The U.S. Northeast is grappling with the aftermath of a massive winter storm that dumped over a foot of snow across a 1,300-mile stretch from Arkansas to New England. The storm has led to severe weather warnings, canceled flights, and dangerous road conditions. Areas are expecting even more snowfall, with bitter cold setting in behind the storm. Several states, including Louisiana and Mississippi, have reported fatalities linked to the extreme weather, highlighting the serious impacts of these conditions on communities.

The U.S. work week commenced with heavy snowfall across the Northeast, as a colossal winter storm impacted much of the southern and eastern United States, causing ice-related power outages, impassable roads, and canceled flights.

Over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell across a substantial 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) band from Arkansas to New England, forcing road closures and school cancellations. Forecasts predict additional snowfall of up to two feet (60 cm) in certain areas.

In Falmouth, Massachusetts, residents experienced heavy snowfall, with local minister Nell Fields expressing a sense of universal pause as she shoveled her driveway. I feel that the universe just put a big, huge pause on us with all the snow, Fields remarked, noting the eight inches (18 cm) that had already accumulated.

On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, some residents embraced the winter wonderland. January Cotrel shared her excitement for snow-covered streets, saying, I pray for two feet every time we get a snowstorm. I want as much as we can get. Let the city just shut down for a day, and it’s beautiful, and then we can get back to life.

As temperatures dropped in the storm's wake, the Lower 48 states recorded their coldest average low temperature in nearly a decade, driven in part by record warmth in Florida. Wind chill advisories spanned from Montana to the Florida Panhandle, with many locations experiencing temperatures plummeting to zero degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius) or lower.

In Mississippi, freezing rain from the storm was deemed particularly hazardous, with nearly 213 million people under winter weather warnings at one peak Saturday. Mississippi even declared a state of emergency as conditions worsened, with treacherous roadways causing officials to advise against driving unless absolutely necessary.

On Sunday alone, approximately 12,000 flights were canceled and nearly 20,000 delayed due to the storm, as major airports across the Northeast braced for ongoing impacts into the week ahead.

The storm has already been linked to several fatalities, with reports of individuals discovered outdoors in severe conditions and others suffering from life-threatening hypothermia.

Despite the chaos, Fields highlighted a silver lining, suggesting that the storm's disruption may prompt reflection on community and care for one another, saying, It’s given us some silence, and maybe we’re using this time to think about what’s really important.