Rare thundersleet was reported across parts of Texas on January 24, 2026, as a historic winter storm swept across the country, leaving dangerous road conditions in its wake.
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.
A potentially historic winter storm associated with the Polar Vortex is forecast to bring heavy snow, freezing rain, and dangerous cold across much of the United States from January 23 to 26, 2026. The system is expected to cause widespread travel disruptions, power outages, and hazardous conditions from Texas to the Northeast, with more than 200 million people under various National Weather Service warnings and watches.
Winter storm warnings and watches have been issued across a broad swath of the United States due to a long-duration winter storm forecast to affect the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley to the Midwest, Great Lakes, Appalachians, and parts of the Southwest.
Winter storm watches are in effect from New Mexico and Texas to Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, from Friday morning through late Saturday night, January 23–24, 2026, with some extending into Sunday afternoon, January 25. Heavy snow, sleet, and ice accumulations are forecast, along with dangerously cold temperatures that will persist into Monday morning, January 26.
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.
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.
Red Flag Warnings are in effect for parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle through Monday, January 5, 2026. The warnings are valid from mid-morning to late afternoon due to very low relative humidity and gusty winds creating critical fire conditions across the region.
Five people, including a two-year-old child, were killed after a Mexican Navy plane crashed near Galveston, Texas, amid foggy conditions on Monday, December 22, 2025, while transporting medical patients. At least one person remains missing, with search operations and the investigation continuing.
Freeze warnings were issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for parts of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas early on December 15, 2025, lasting through December 16. Temperatures dropped as low as 21°F (−6°C) in central Louisiana and 24°F (−4°C) in northern Florida, with wind chills reaching 14°F (−10°C).
