A massive winter storm is battering the United States, placing roughly 190 million people across 37 states under winter weather alerts on Friday (January 24). The sprawling system is delivering heavy snow, dangerous ice accumulations, and Arctic temperatures across a 1,500-mile stretch from Oklahoma City to Boston.

Snow totals of six to 12 inches are forecast across a wide swath from the southern Plains through the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Many locations in the Northeast could receive over a foot of snow, with localized totals topping a foot in some areas.

The storm's most dangerous element may be ice accumulation. Destructive levels of ice are forecast from east Texas to central Tennessee and northern Georgia to central Virginia. Over 15 states could see ice accretion capable of causing numerous power outages from Friday through Monday. The bull's-eye for the most significant ice accretion, capable of causing widespread power outages, is currently forecast from East Texas through southern Arkansas.

As of Saturday morning, about 120,000 homes across the United States were without power, according to poweroutage.us. About 21,000 of those were in Texas. Dominion Energy, which operates in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, said crews are preparing for "widespread power outages" from heavy ice and snow accumulation.

At least 21 states have declared states of emergency, including Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also declared a state of emergency Friday.

Emergency response teams are mobilizing across affected states. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state was well equipped to handle the coming weather, with 1,600 large plows and 114,000 tons of salt on hand. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said thousands of sanitation workers had already salted the highways and streets in "every corner" of the city.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger warned residents Saturday to prepare for "significant and extended power outages" during and after the winter storm, which she expected to be "catastrophic." "Because of wind we're anticipating, because of the ice and because of the freezing temperatures, we expect Virginia will experience power outages even after the snow has ended," Spanberger said during a press briefing.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he would approve emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia. "With the help of FEMA and our State partners, we will keep everyone safe, and make sure both States have the support they need," President Trump wrote on Truth Social. "We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm."

The storm's impact on air travel has been severe. Approximately 3,654 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been canceled. More than 9,000 flights have been canceled through Saturday and Sunday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.

The storm is forecast to move out of the country by Monday night. However, places with significant snow and ice accumulation could face travel problems and power outages extending into early next week.

Roughly 125 million people across the United States can expect subzero temperatures through Thursday, underscoring the widespread nature of the cold that will come with and follow the big storm. Next week, a fresh, deep snowpack will act like a freezer and cause nighttime temperatures to plummet to dangerously cold levels in the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic.

Terry Meiners