The most extreme major winter storm so far this season will hit the eastern half of the United States with damaging ice and heavy snow later this week. It’s all caused by a fierce blast of arctic air, which is bringing the coldest air of the season.
“A widespread winter storm will bring heavy snow, sleet, and dangerous freezing rain across a wide area from the southern Rockies/Plains region and south-central region starting Friday and moving to the East Coast into Sunday,” the weather forecast center warned Tuesday morning.
Confidence continues to increase for a widespread, severe winter storm that will impact much of the southern and eastern parts of the country from Friday into Sunday. Key messages have been updated. pic.twitter.com/7KrntfrGTN
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 20, 2026
Storms will begin to intensify in the flatlands starting Friday. The winter chaos, a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain, could extend more than a thousand miles from Oklahoma and northern Texas to North Carolina and Virginia by Saturday night.
Massive travel disruptions on roads and airports are to be expected in a wide area from the Southern and Central Plains to the East Coast. Of particular concern is freezing rain, which not only has a negative impact on ice accumulation, but can also make travel impossible in the worst-case scenario.
A coating of ice between a quarter and a half inch thick is enough to bring down trees and power lines. Current forecasts indicate that parts of the South, from northern and eastern Texas to the lower Mississippi River, northern Georgia and parts of the Carolinas, are most at risk for significant icing. Even with low ice levels, travel could be suspended in major cities.
North of the storm’s ice belt, snow totals could exceed a half-foot in an area that could extend from Oklahoma to the mid-Atlantic.
Snow and ice are possible Friday and Friday night from northern Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas to the lower Mississippi River. From there, widespread winter disruptions of snow, sleet and freezing rain will impact the South, mid-Mississippi, much of the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic this weekend.
Depending on how long it takes for the storm to finally make it out to sea, parts of the East Coast could see continued snow into Monday.
But the path of this storm and how it will interact with the blast of cold air is still uncertain, and that will make a big difference when it comes to the total amount of snow and ice in one location. These details will come into greater focus in the coming days.
One thing is for sure: the bitter cold is coming for millions of people, and the accumulated snow and ice isn’t melting anytime soon. This means that in areas that see significant snow and ice totals, the effects could last into early next week.
The Arctic intrusion that is the origin of this winter storm is expected to reach the Midwest and Plains Thursday into Friday and spread into the South and East this weekend. Dozens of locations could approach near-record low temperatures, especially on Saturday.
Temperatures are expected to be about 30 degrees below normal in parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and northern Illinois by Friday. This is important because in many areas east of the Rocky Mountains, average temperatures are already at their lowest levels in mid-to-late January.
Thermometers in the Twin Cities could remain below freezing all day Friday, with lows that morning and Saturday likely to bottom out near minus 20 degrees. Chicago could see at least two consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures.
Dangerously cold temperatures are also expected. Temperatures will drop to 30 to 50 degrees below zero in the upper Midwest. When the wind is this cold, frostbite can occur on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.
The worst of the cold wave will hit parts of the South on Saturday, while also spreading to the Northeast, where thermometers are expected to drop 15 to 30 degrees below average. High temperatures in Boston and New York are likely to stay in the teens, while Dallas-Fort Worth is likely to stay below freezing.
This vast arctic atmosphere is notorious for producing major winter storms, including deep into the South, and this one appears to be no exception.
