A major winter storm will bring widespread snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Plains to the Mid-Atlantic between Friday, January 23, and Sunday, January 25, 2026.
A major winter storm is forecast to sweep across much of the central and eastern United States between January 23 and 25, 2026, with a mix of snow, sleet, and ice likely from Texas and the Mid-South to the Northeast. Dangerous travel and freezing rain are expected in several regions as the system intensifies through the weekend.
Multiple injuries were reported after lake effect snow and whiteout conditions triggered a 100-vehicle pileup on the I-196 southeast of Grand Rapids on Monday, January 19, 2026. The crashes prompted the closure of all lanes of the highway throughout the day as crews cleared the road.
Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms swept across New South Wales and southeast Queensland between Saturday and Monday, January 17 and 19, 2026, forcing evacuations around Sydney’s Narrabeen Lagoon and causing one death at Macquarie Pass. The storm system brought flash flooding, landslides, and dozens of rescues as the NSW State Emergency Service continued operations across inundated coastal suburbs.
Heavy snow and strong winds continue across the Great Lakes and Northeast U.S. on January 19, 2026, with winter storm warnings and advisories in effect across the region. Snow accumulations are forecast to reach 15–-35 cm (6–14 inches) in Michigan and up to 120 cm (4 feet) in parts of northern New York.
Freeze warnings and cold weather advisories are in effect across Florida, southeast Georgia, and southern Texas from late January 18 through the morning of January 19, 2026. Sub-freezing temperatures ranging from −4 to -1°C (24–30°F), with wind chills near -6.6°C (20°F), are forecast in some areas during the warning period.
A powerful, prolonged snowstorm that began on January 12, 2026, has paralyzed the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, with snow depths reportedly reaching up to 500 cm (16 feet) in some areas. A municipal-level State of Emergency was declared for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky after two people were killed by snow sliding off rooftops on January 15.
Snow squalls continued through the Saturday afternoon, January 17, 2026, across parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania as an Arctic cold front advanced eastward from the Midwest into the Interior Northeast. The National Weather Service warned of sudden whiteout conditions, gusty winds, and rapidly deteriorating visibility, creating dangerous travel for motorists.
More than 200 people have died in weeks of torrential rain and severe flooding across southern Africa, with Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe bearing the worst impacts. The prolonged La Niña pattern has intensified the region’s rainy season, leaving widespread damage to homes, roads, crops and public infrastructure.
A major polar vortex disruption has begun and is forecast to send Arctic air into much of North America and Europe through mid and late January 2026. The event will bring freezing temperatures and winter weather as the vortex weakens following a stratospheric warming episode. A second, stronger outbreak is forecast to occur during the last part of January as the core of the vortex splits into two halves, each driving cold Arctic air into Europe and North America in February.
