Historic winter storm paralyzes US: flights canceled, roads blocked, grocery shelves emptied

A historic winter storm, named Winter Storm Fern , is battering a vast swath of the United States this weekend, knocking out flights, snarling travel, emptying grocery shelves , and bringing life to a standstill from the South into the Northeast and Midwest. The National Weather Service warns the system combines heavy snow, widespread ice, and bitter cold, with impacts expected to linger for days after it passes.

More than 8,000 flights scheduled to take off over the weekend have already been cancelled , with total disruptions expected to reach or exceed 9,000 as the storm intensifies. Major airline hubs in Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, and New York have been particularly hard hit, forcing waivers for travelers and leaving airports gridlocked. Governors and city officials across at least 18 states and Washington, D.C., have declared emergencies as snow and ice target a massive region from Texas and Oklahoma through the Mid-Atlantic and into New England . Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia activated emergency response plans and pretreated roads, while National Guard units are being readied for deployment.

The storm has brought freezing rain, sleet, and heavy snow to the South, including Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Atlanta, where roads have become treacherous and schools have closed early. The system is expected to dump up to a foot or more of snow from Washington, D.C., through New York, Boston, and upstate New York, with some mountainous areas forecast to receive well above historic averages. Forecasters warn the ice buildup could rival that of a hurricane, exerting catastrophic stress on power lines and trees and leading to prolonged outages. Wind chill temperatures are expected to plunge to unprecedented lows (−40 to −41 Celsius) in parts of the Midwest and upper Plains, making frostbite a threat in minutes.

As the storm approached, panic swept through grocery stores from Mississippi and Texas to Washington, D.C., where shoppers stripped shelves of essentials including water, milk, bread, and batteries . Fuel shortages have also cropped up in some areas, with queues for gasoline and propane growing as motorists prepare for extended time at home.

FEMA ( Federal Emergency Management Agency ) resources, including millions of meals, blankets, and generators , have been placed strategically along the storm’s expected path. Nearly 30 search and rescue teams are on standby. President Trump affirmed that FEMA is fully prepared to respond, emphasizing coordination with state and local leaders. Utilities have mobilized thousands of workers to bolster power grids, mindful of past failures during extreme cold events that left millions without electricity. Cities such as Houston have declared all-hands-on-deck responses to keep services running.

Church services have moved online, events like carnival parades have been canceled or postponed, and schools and universities from Philadelphia to the University of North Carolina have shuttered. Public transit systems in major metropolitan areas are bracing for delays or temporary shutdowns. Officials are urging residents to stay home if possible, avoid unnecessary travel, and prepare emergency supplies of food, water, and medications, as hazardous conditions may make travel impossible and power restoration slow.

A historic winter storm has crippled travel, emptied grocery shelves, triggered emergency declarations, and brought heavy snow, ice, and extreme cold from the South to the Northeast, threatening power outages and dangerous conditions .