A massive winter storm has killed at least 11 people across the United States, causing widespread power outages, flight cancellations, and dangerous road conditions as it moves from the South to the Northeast.
The storm, which has dumped snow, sleet, and freezing rain from Texas to New England since the weekend, left over 820,000 customers without electricity by Monday. The Southern states were hardest hit, with Tennessee reporting over 250,000 outages, followed by Louisiana and Mississippi each with over 100,000.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reported five people were found dead outside over the weekend. “There is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold,” he told reporters.
Authorities confirmed three storm-related deaths in Texas, including a 16-year-old girl killed in a sledding accident. Louisiana’s health department reported two deaths from hypothermia, and one person was killed in a weather-related collision in southeast Iowa.
Officials from Texas to North Carolina and New York urged residents to stay off the roads. “Stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary,” posted Texas’s Emergency Management Division on social media.
Travel chaos ensued nationwide, with more than 19,000 flights cancelled since Saturday. Major airports in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York saw nearly all flights scrapped for Monday. In Maine, a small aircraft carrying eight passengers crashed on takeoff from Bangor International Airport Sunday evening, though it was not immediately clear if weather was a factor.
At least 20 states and Washington D.C. have declared states of emergency. The National Weather Service warned of life-threatening cold following the storm, with wind chills in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest potentially dropping below -50°F (-45°C), a temperature that can cause frostbite within minutes.
The storm system is linked to a stretched polar vortex, an Arctic weather pattern. While scientists debate the role of climate change in increasing the frequency of such events, former President Donald Trump, riding out the storm at the White House, questioned the science on his social media platform.
“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” he posted, while also stating, “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!”
