Major U.S. winter storm claims at least 24 lives in 14 states, leaves over 1 million customers without power
A major winter storm swept across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. over the weekend, claiming at least 24 lives as of Monday, January 26, 2026. Over a million customers, roughly 2.5 million people, were left without power as snowstorms hit the northern and northeastern regions, while freezing rain and ice storms wreaked havoc in the south. States of emergency have been declared across multiple regions as the storm’s impacts linger.
Heavy snow cover in Ohio on January 25, 2026. Credit: ODOT
A historic winter storm spread across the United States this weekend, January 23–25, leaving at least 24 confirmed fatalities in different states, as temperatures plunged and infrastructure failures expanded across the South, Midwest, and Northeast.
New York reported at least 6 fatalities, followed by Texas and Tennessee, both of which reported three deaths, and Louisiana, with two. Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have each reported at least one death.
Five people in New York City were found dead outside on Saturday before the snowfall began, said Mayor Zoharan Mamdani. Another death was reported on Sunday, bringing the total to six. Snowfall totals reached over 33 cm (13 inches) in parts of the state by January 26.
A 16-year-old girl died, and another teen is in critical condition after a tragic sledding accident during an intense winter storm in Frisco, Texas.
The Frisco Police Department said they responded to the area of Majestic Gardens Drive and Killian Court around 14:26 local time for a reported accident. They found two 16-year-old girls with life-threatening injuries. They were both transported to the hospital, where one died, and the other girl remains in critical condition, according to the police department.
Investigators believe a 16-year-old boy was driving a Jeep Wrangler while pulling the two girls on a sled. Witnesses told police that the sled struck a curb and then collided with a tree.
Local officials have warned that the death toll may rise as rescue and welfare checks continue in isolated areas affected by power loss and frozen roads.
Record-breaking snowfall was reported across multiple states, including Ohio, where Dayton recorded 31.5 cm (12.4 inches) on January 25. This was a new all-time record for the heaviest 24-hour snowfall in the area, according to the NWS office in Wilmington.
Heavy freezing rain and ice storms caused significant damage across the southern states. Over a million customers were without power across the country on January 26, with Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas being the worst hit. This amounts to roughly 2.5 million people.
Utilities reported extensive damage to transmission lines and substations due to ice accumulation and high demand. Emergency shelters have been opened in several cities as temperatures dropped below −20°C (−4°F) in parts of the Midwest and below freezing across the Gulf Coast.
Between 13 000 and 15 000 flights were cancelled nationwide between January 24 and 26, with major hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Chicago O’Hare reporting cascading delays. This was the worst air travel disruption to occur in the U.S. since the Covid-19 pandemic, when around 23 000 flights were cancelled.
State transportation departments reported widespread road closures due to black ice, snowdrifts, and jackknifed vehicles, particularly along sections of I-40 and I-70.
Governors in multiple states, along with Washington, D.C., declared states of emergency to expedite utility repairs and coordinate disaster response. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Guard units were deployed to assist with power restoration and relief operations.
References:
1 At least 5 deaths span multiple states as massive winter storm leaves trail of damage across the US – Fox Weather – January 26, 2026
2 Live updates: Death toll rises as storm moves offshore and bitter cold sets in – NBC – January 26, 2026
Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.
Published in the last 24 hours
- Northern lights are possible at high latitudes on November 17 and 18 as NOAA forecasts minor (G1) geomagnetic storms from coronal hole wind
- In February 2022, SpaceX launched 49 Starlink satellites into a solar storm so mild that forecasters rated it minor, and within days 38 of them had fallen back and burned up, because the storm had swollen the thin air they were flying through Epicenter
- On a Friday night in October 1992, a fireball over the eastern US was filmed by fans at high school football games before it punched through the trunk of a teenager’s $400 Chevy Malibu in Peekskill, New York, and she sold the wrecked car for $10,000 Epicenter
- Green Lake, Hawaii's largest freshwater lake, was gone by the afternoon of June 2, 2018, after lava from Kilauea filled its basin. The water was about 20 feet deep, not the 200 feet often claimed. Epicenter
