SNOW - ReportWire

‘Dangerous and deadly’: First responders urge people to stay off the ice – WTOP News

Whether it’s a backyard pond, an area lake or the Potomac River, first responders are urging the public to stay off the ice.

Pete Piringer, spokesperson for Montgomery County’s Fire and Rescue Service, told WTOP, “Any kind of natural ice is problematic — it might be thick in one area and thin in another.”

D.C. Harbormaster Lt. Andrew Horos, with the D.C. police department’s Harbor Patrol Unit, echoed that.

Horos said the department has an airboat that it can use in the kind of frigid weather the region has been experiencing.

“When we go out there, it will be on a thick sheet of ice, gliding across, and it looks exactly the same. We’ll move to another portion of ice, and the boat will sink in and crack the ice and fall in the water. So it’s very hard to tell how thick that ice is just by looking at it,” he said.

Horos pointed out that it’s important to understand that a seemingly placid, ice-covered surface is deceptive.

That’s especially true of the Potomac River, with its powerful currents.

“Unlike a pond, where you would fall through and you would kind of stay in that area and people would be able to come and rescue you; if you fall in that area with a strong undertow, you’re going to get swept under the ice, making it very dangerous and deadly,” Horos said.

Falling into cold water — even when it hasn’t frozen over — is also extremely hazardous, Piringer said.

“It only takes a couple of minutes before you will lose your breath, your body kind of shuts down, and you can become incapacitated and unable to get out,” he said.

Aside from the hazards posed by falling through the ice into frigid waters, Horos pointed out it’s illegal to walk on the river under D.C. Municipal Regulations.

Those regulations say that “no person shall engage in any recreational activities that include, or may result in, direct physical contact with ice on District of Columbia waters. These activities shall include, but not be limited to, walking on the ice, ice skating, ice sledding, ice boating, ice fishing and the use of a vehicle or other device on the ice.”

Piringer said that when it comes to getting out and enjoying the ice, whether it’s to practice slap shots or perfect your triple Lutz, “We believe the only really safe ice is in an ice rink.”

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Kate Ryan

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February 4, 2026

Fairfax Co. church left without prayer space after snow-covered roof collapses – WTOP News

A Northern Virginia church is scrambling to find a place for its congregants to pray and gather, after its roof collapsed earlier this week from heavy snow.

A Northern Virginia church is scrambling to find a place for its congregants to pray and gather after its roof collapsed earlier this week from heavy snow.

The St. George Tigrai Orthodox Tewahdo Church in Mt. Vernon is surrounded by red and yellow caution tape that first responders placed Monday evening and its parking lot is empty.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said it responded to the area around 5:20 p.m. Monday. They identified it as a “partially collapsed two-story commercial building” and found “roof and floor failure,” according to a post on X.

Nobody was inside at the time of the collapse, the county said, and there weren’t any injuries.

Ayalneh Berhe, the church’s finance and administration coordinator, said adding to the issues with the collapsed roof, they’re dealing with the main building’s walls “leaning forward towards the front.”

Berhe said the space was purchased during the pandemic in 2020, and it’s a place where over 100 Ethiopian congregants gather.

“We don’t have any place to pray, to do our prayers,” he said. “We are looking at options.”

It’s unlikely the roof can be repaired, Berhe said, because of the way one side of the building is leaning. Nobody has been allowed to enter the spaces, and building engineers will be tasked with inspecting it.

Religious materials, computers and instruments are still inside.

“We don’t have a place to pray, that’s number one,” Berhe said. “Second, we are also thinking, how much will be the damage?”

An outdoor tent used as a gathering space for the community to have breakfast, coffee or tea after services conclude also collapsed, Berhe said.

The church has launched a fundraiser to help out with costs from the incident. Anyone seeking details can call or email using the contact information on its website, he said.

“People are calling us to know the story, what happened,” Berhe said. “And we’ll see. We’ll settle anywhere who provides us space temporarily. Eventually, we want our church to be rebuilt and resume our function there.”

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Scott Gelman

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February 4, 2026

Montgomery County Council members press transportation, school officials about snow removal – WTOP News

Montgomery County Council members sharply questioned transportation, emergency management and school officials over snow removal failures.

Montgomery County Council members questioned officials in charge of snow removal in the Maryland county Tuesday afternoon about their efforts to clear roads and reopen schools, more than a week after a snowstorm blanketed the D.C. region with inches of snow and ice.

Since the storm, the snow removal process has received criticism from some residents due to the condition of some residential streets and the closure of county schools for five days.

“This is perhaps the worst snowstorm I’ve ever seen,” Montgomery County Council member Sidney Katz said at a Transportation and Environment Committee session.

And while he, like the rest of the council members, thanked snow removal crews for their hard work, Katz added, “We need to try our best not to have this misery again.”

The National Weather Service reported parts of the D.C. region saw significant snow accumulation during the storm, ranging from 5 inches to nearly a foot. Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin told the council that crews had to move about 3 million tons of snow and ice off county roads.

However, Conklin conceded changes are needed, particularly in how the county communicates with the public about the snow removal process.

“We need to clean up the data entry process for the residential street clearing and get rid of those false reports of completed routes,” he said.

Conklin also said that there’s too much reliance on technology and social media for communication.

“We need to go back to having direct conversations about the snow status among elected officials and those responding,” he said.

Luke Hodgson, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, added that there was a “mismatch” in the expectations the public had about the snow removal process.

“We’ve all acknowledged that there are things that we could have absolutely done better,” Hodgson said. “We have a list of those already.”

The county’s Department of General Services — which manages the county’s vehicles and facilities — worked long hours repairing equipment quickly to keep the snow removal process going, Director David Dise said.

About 26 heavy equipment mechanics, welders, and parts technicians made repairs to snow-clearing equipment, Dise said, adding that those crews worked around the clock for five consecutive days. Among the repairs were replacing mud flaps, fixing flat tires and repairing hydraulic hoses.

Along with the repairs, Dise said his crews were also towing trucks and Ride On buses that were stuck in snowbanks. Once the agency completed its work, some of its contractors were sent to help the county’s school system with its process, Dise said.

Getting kids back to school

When asked about the level of cooperation with Montgomery County Public Schools officials to clear school properties and bus stops, Conklin said there had been as many as seven to eight exchanges between transportation and school officials before a formal request for assistance was filed on Sunday.

Council member Andrew Friedson, who is one of three county council members running for county executive, responded questioning the exchanges.

“What was supposed to happen?,” he said. “Because I can’t imagine that the protocol suggested not responding until eight days after a storm, requesting help.”

Conklin conceded that the department’s protocol is to have “an open line of communications,” but there isn’t a formal written agreement between the county and MCPS regarding the issue.

“I would strongly urge there to be a written MOU between (county agencies) and MCPS that specifically delineates what will be done and how it will be achieved,” Friedson said.

Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez asked Adnan Mamoon, the schools’ chief of operations, about the timing of the school system’s request for help with opening schools.

“We were focusing on clearing up our schools first. … We started gathering the intel and we shared with our partners,” Mamoon said.

However, Council members Will Jawando and Evan Glass, both of whom are also running for county executive, challenged Mamoon’s explanation, sharing details of massive snow piles at school bus stops before classes were scheduled to start with a two-hour delay.

“Neighbors of mine shared with me a video from the Flower Avenue Apartments where 50 school children were hoisted by neighbors over an ice barricade so that they could get on the school bus,” Glass said.

Jawando said hundreds of people shared their concerns about the cleanup process during a town hall he attended.

“People are frustrated, they are upset, but they’re forgiving if they know that there’s a plan and a commitment to do better,” he said.

Council member Kristin Mink noted that during the hearing, her phone was filled with notifications that Montgomery County schools would again open with a two-hour delay on Wednesday. She questioned whether the delay would really make a difference, given the condition of some school bus stops.

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Kate Ryan

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February 4, 2026

What the DC region is doing with the ‘snowcrete’ it’s hauling off the streets – WTOP News

Arlington County crews worked nonstop for days after a major snowstorm, hauling truckloads of snow as sleet and freezing temperatures complicated cleanup efforts across roads, sidewalks and bus stops.

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How the DC region is handling ‘snowcrete’

In response to the recent snowstorm, crews in Arlington, Virginia, worked 12-hour shifts for seven straight days before scaling back continuous operations.

Ever since, they’ve been working to get roads, sidewalks and bus stops clear, according to Jeremy Hassan, bureau chief for Water, Sewers and Streets in Arlington County.

The county, Hassan told WTOP, is responsible for clearing about 1,000 lane miles in response to winter weather — that includes turn lanes, bike lanes and bridges.

As part of the cleanup effort, neighborhoods across the D.C. region have been confronted with a choice — haul the snow away, or push it toward the curbs or parking lots, and hope temperatures inch closer to seasonal averages so it eventually melts.

“Some of our drivers that have been doing this for 10 or 20 years, it’s even unique to them, because it’s not something that you can really train for, prepare for. They were, on the fly, making adjustments to handle it as best you can,” Hassan said.

In Arlington, crews have been hauling it to a handful of predetermined locations. The list includes parking lots and other facilities, but time management and convenience are considered, because of the number of trips that have to be made.

In some cases, such as near the county courthouse, hardpack snow is piled up and closing a stretch of the street.

In other locations, Hassan said, there are snow-melters operating around the clock. It’s the first time in a decade the county has had to use the equipment.

“Day and night, 24/7, we had to haul over 5,000 truckloads of materials from our commercial corridors,” Hassan said. “And even then, there’s still material out there that we’re trying to prioritize and find that good balance of, what’s enough to get the community out there to be able to enjoy businesses, make their medical appointments, take their family where they need to be; but also try to hope that Mother Nature … helps us kind of takes its part of that as well.”

Some of the drop-off sites are at full capacity, Hassan said, adding, “Once we’re out there plowing, it gets to a point of where we’ve kind of maximized our efficiency of where we can push things.”

The storm presented unique challenges, he said, because sleet came after the snow, almost creating “a skating rink on top of six inches of fluffy snow.”

Plows are effective in pushing material off streets, but their strength is limited once it freezes, Hassan said.

“So now, when you’re hitting it with that plow, it adds weight, it adds resistance, and they’re trying to push it to the sides,” he said. “Also, it moves in chunks versus fluffy snow, which is more like just sand and material you could push it out to the sides.”

While the county has prioritized commercial corridors, with a lot of pedestrians and on-street parking, “you’re kind of limited where you push it, because the businesses are trying to push it closer to the street and the sidewalk. We’re pushing it to the street, and that pile just accumulates,” Hassan said.

“In those areas, the only other option when you get to a certain point is to remove it physically, which calls for drastic hauling operations,” he added.

The work will continue, Hassan said, until students can safely navigate bus stops, and county drivers find intersections and traffic patterns that are “looking good.”

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Scott Gelman

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February 4, 2026

Colorado snowplow driver on administrative leave after fatal I-70 crash

The snowplow driver who lost control last week on Interstate 70 and swerved into oncoming traffic has been placed on administrative leave amid the fatal crash investigation, state officials said.

State patrol officials hope to complete the crash investigation within four weeks, but “many factors play into that timeframe,” Colorado State Patrol spokesperson Ivan Alvarado said Monday.

The driver of a van carrying a youth hockey team headed to Denver for the Western Girls Hockey League weekend died in the Thursday morning crash on I-70 near Herman Gulch, and eight people in the van were injured, according to state patrol officials.

The Clear Creek County Coroner’s Office identified the driver killed in the crash as 38-year-old Manuel Alejandro Lorenzana Villegas from Chatsworth, California. His cause of death remained under investigation on Monday, Chief Deputy Coroner Nichol Nelson said.

Lorenzana Villegas was the father of one of the players on the youth hockey team, the Santa Clarita Lady Flyers, according to reporting from Denver7.

A snowplow on westbound I-70 lost control in the snow shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, crashing through the median and hitting a Toyota Tacoma in the eastbound lanes, state patrol officials said. The impact sent the Tacoma back across the median, where it hit a westbound BMW.

State investigators said the snow plow then hit the Ford Transit van carrying the girls’ hockey team from California, sending the van down an embankment. The agency previously identified the vehicle as a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van.

Three adults and four juveniles in the van were taken to Denver Health by ambulance, hospital officials said in a statement.

A fifth juvenile passenger was airlifted to a separate trauma center with critical injuries, according to the state patrol. No other injuries were reported.

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February 2, 2026

UNC professor who studied online learning offers advice for how to make the most of it

Once again, many students in the Triangle area are learning remotely due to winter weather.

WRAL Investigates spoke with Sophie McKoy, who is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent time researching ways to maximize remote learning. She also owns Mindspire Tutoring and Test Prep, which conducts both in-person and virtual sessions.

McKoy said engagement is the key to successful online learning, and that teachers and students should be doing everything possible to facilitate conversations and discussions about the material. She said that while some teachers typically shy away from allowing students to use the chat function during virtual class, they should reconsider that approach.

“The intimidation barrier of participating in a typed chat is way lower than having to raise your hand in front of a group,” she explained. “We’ve really found that students were comfortable chatting, that’s like what they do in their day-to-day interactions socially, and that was a really natural way for them to start engaging with the material.”

Closings and delays: Click or tap here

“For teachers, try and give students as many opportunities to talk in small group with other students as you can,” she continued. “And I think, students, don’t be afraid to create those opportunities for yourself even if they’re not a formal part … you’re watching something asynchronously or in live time, don’t be shy to talk to your classmates about it.”

McKoy said that, if possible, students should have a quiet, private space while they learn virtually.

“For students, don’t be afraid to use the advantage that you’re given, [which] sis that you can take things at your own pace for that day, especially if you have an asynchronous class,” McKoy said. “So you get the best of both worlds. You get to digest material at your own pace, and you get to go back to the classroom in a few days and have thought about questions that you have.”

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February 2, 2026

Winter storm changes trash & recycling pickup schedules in Triangle towns

Snow fell across the Triangle over the weekend, prompting adjustments to garbage and recycling pickup for the second week in a row.

Keep track of changes for this week. This story will be updated.

Wake County

Apex: Trash and recycling will be collected on a one-day delay this week, with this Friday’s routes collected Saturday.

Cary: Curbside collection will be delayed one day this week. Residents can sign up for the CaryCollects app for updates.

Holly Springs: Holly Springs’ contractor GFL will run on a one-day delay this week.

Knightdale: Residents will be notified through email and social media if there are disruptions to their normal collection schedule.

Raleigh: No residential pick up or Central Business District services Monday. The Yard Waste Center will be closed.

Wake County: Nonessential services, including solid waste facilities, are closed Monday.

Wake Forest: Trash and recycling routes will be collected one day later than normal and extend into Saturday. Monday’s route will be collected Tuesday and Friday’s route will be collected Saturday. Yard waste collection will also be suspended Monday.

Durham County

City of Durham: Curbside collections are canceled Monday, with service expected to resume Feb. 3. Those with regular Monday pickup are asked to put their containers out Monday night for collection the next day. Yard waste collections are suspended.

Durham County: Monday’s recycling has been rescheduled for Wednesday.

Orange County

Chapel Hill: Residential and commercial trash collection is canceled Monday.

Orange County: All waste and recycling centers will be closed Monday, and recycling will not be collected. Recycling collection is expected to be delayed one day for the rest of the week and collected as road conditions permit.

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February 2, 2026

A week after the snowstorm, neighbors help neighbors in DC – WTOP News

It’s been a week since snow and ice pummeled D.C. While many residents spent days shoveling paths back to a normal life, others also looked after their neighbors.

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A week after the snowstorm, neighbors help neighbors in DC

There were many in the D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood who not only lent a helping hand to their neighbors, they also brought tools.

Mike Chaney, a native of Cleveland, said he’s no stranger to snow.

“This has been the worst. It’s just the thickness, the hardness,” Chaney said. “We got to band together sometimes, grab a shovel to break up the ice.”

Chaney has spent more than 12 hours over the past few days breaking up snow and clearing crosswalks in his neighborhood. He told WTOP all the effort has been causing him to sleep soundly afterward.

Across the street clearing another crosswalk was Chian Gavin, who has lived in D.C. for nearly 40 years. She told WTOP that she has never seen a snowstorm like this.

Not only does she want to help make walking in her neighborhood safe for her and her neighbors, Gavin said she has plans she refuses to miss.

“I have Zumba on Monday. I’m getting to Zumba on Monday,” Gavin said with a laugh.

A few blocks down clearing a sidewalk was Tatiana Marquez. She is part of D.C.’s Volunteer Snow Program, the Snow Team Heroes.

“This is just one of two that I signed up for,” Marquez told WTOP. “So this one looks like it would be a good hour.”

Marquez said had checked with the person who lived at the house she was standing in front of and said learned her help was needed getting the sidewalk cleared.

On a side street were Stacy Strong and Bryan McDermott. They were breaking apart chunks of ice that appeared as if they could have been from an iceberg.

Strong told WTOP it took her three days to get her car free of the snow and ice and now she was helping McDermott.

“It’s a good workout. It’s hard to get to the gym. There’s no place to park, so it’s actually a good way to get out there and get some exercise,” McDermott told WTOP.

Close by on Michigan Ave. in Northeast vehicles were lined up around the block in front of Turkey Thicket Recreation Center, which was one of five pop-up ice distribution centers set up by the mayor’s office.

“Mayor Bowser, she has galvanized volunteers and workers from just about every agency in the city,” Kera Tyler, chief of external affairs for D.C. Public Schools told WTOP. “They’re thanking us for digging in these salt piles and filling up their trunks, and we’re happy to do it.”

One of those in line was Arturo Alford. He drove his Chevrolet Tahoe to pick up salt for not only himself but also his parents.

While he believes that D.C. could have done a better job with snow removal, he said the salt giveaway helps, and he told WTOP he was impressed with how organized the event was at the distribution center.

“I only had to wait 20 minutes, not bad,” said Alford.

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Jimmy Alexander

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February 1, 2026

Snowy footprints lead police to alleged vape thief

Fresh snow in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, helped police officers find a suspect in a business break-in and theft over the weekend. Police responded to a business alarm in the 1300 block of Southwest Market Street early Sunday. When they arrived, they discovered the front door was shattered. Officers checked the building and learned a “large quantity” of nicotine vapes were stolen. Outside the business, the suspect left behind a major clue: a trail of footprints in the snow. Police used a thermal-imaging drone, plus the assistance of K-9 officer Roy, to track the footprints back to a nearby home. Officers made contact with the residents inside, and a juvenile reportedly admitted to the burglary and showed officers the stolen vapes. “Thanks to a quick response, teamwork, and some helpful snowy conditions, the suspect was taken into custody, and the stolen property was returned to the business,” police said on social media. Charges are pending, police said. The suspect’s age was not specified, but the case was submitted to juvenile court.

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. —

Fresh snow in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, helped police officers find a suspect in a business break-in and theft over the weekend.

Police responded to a business alarm in the 1300 block of Southwest Market Street early Sunday. When they arrived, they discovered the front door was shattered. Officers checked the building and learned a “large quantity” of nicotine vapes were stolen.

Outside the business, the suspect left behind a major clue: a trail of footprints in the snow.

Lee’s Summit Police Department

Police used a thermal-imaging drone, plus the assistance of K-9 officer Roy, to track the footprints back to a nearby home.

Officers made contact with the residents inside, and a juvenile reportedly admitted to the burglary and showed officers the stolen vapes.

“Thanks to a quick response, teamwork, and some helpful snowy conditions, the suspect was taken into custody, and the stolen property was returned to the business,” police said on social media.

Charges are pending, police said. The suspect’s age was not specified, but the case was submitted to juvenile court.

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January 31, 2026

Snow flies at the NC coast as winter storm moves in. Up to a foot is possible.

Sammy Boyd’s hometown of Morehead City doesn’t have a fleet of plows, so his waterfront restaurant, Southern Salt, closed down like nearly every other business on Saturday to give a big winter storm time to pass.

“We don’t have the infrastructure like some places do,” said Boyd, who cleared the restaurant parking lot in the afternoon just to make things easier later. While he was out, he said, he saw a few pieces of equipment on the road, “with a little plate attached to the middle kind of kicking the snow to the side.”

Snow accumulates on the beach and on Bogue Inlet Pier at Emerald Isle Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. A winter storm was expected to bring up to a foot of snow to a region of North Carolina from Carteret County to the Virginia border. Bogue Inlet Pier webcam

An area of the state reaching from Rocky Mount and Goldsboro to the coast and from Jacksonville to the Virginia border was expected to get 6 to 12 inches of snow as two weather systems converged Saturday. The storm also brought bitter cold and biting winds.

Along the coast, snow was falling Saturday from Emerald Isle, Beaufort and Morehead City in Carteret County north to the Outer Banks.

Around 2:15 p.m., the city of New Bern posted photos on Facebook of near-whiteout conditions and said, “Roads are getting bad.”

On Ocracoke and Hatteras islands, where winds of up to 60 mph are possible with the storm, ferry service was suspended and drivers had been warned about possible overwash on N.C. 12, especially at high tide.

On Emerald Isle, the webcam at Bogue Inlet Pier showed snow covering the beach and the wooden planks of the pier, which is closed for the season. Even surfers appeared to be taking the afternoon off.

Snow began falling in Morehead City before lunch and continued through the afternoon, sticking to roads and prompting city officials to ask people to stay home. Storm chasers, more accustomed to driving in hurricane rain, were out in the winter equivalent capturing video of snow-covered streets.

Temperatures in the teens and gusty winds that made it feel even colder discouraged sightseeing. Boyd said he saw very few people out around town.

Boyd, 55, whose speech is seasoned with the Carolina Brogue, remembers big snowfalls at the coast in 1979 and 1989. As of Saturday afternoon, this storm didn’t compare to those in terms of snowfall , but he figured there were 5 or 6 inches on the ground and it was still coming.

Until Friday, Boyd was in the Bahamas. He might have stayed, he said, but the forecast called for cooler temperatures there, too, for the next few days.

He considered hopping farther south to Costa Rica, but said, “I had to get back to my dog.”

Outer Banks & live NC beach cams

This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 5:41 PM.

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Martha Quillin

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Martha Quillin writes about climate change and the environment. She has covered North Carolina news, culture, religion and the military since joining The News & Observer in 1987.

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January 31, 2026

Central NC hit by second winter storm of the year. Check out photos

A winter storm impacted the whole state of North Carolina, Saturday, with many in Raleigh feeling somewhat left out of the action as a “dry slot” kept much of the moisture out of the immediate area.

Here are photos from around the Triangle and the I-95 area. Check back for more throughout the weekend.

People walk along Foster Street as snow falls on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Durham, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer

People run along Chapel Hill Street as snow falls on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in downtown Durham, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer

Diners at the Waffle House in Kenly watch the snow fall mid-morning in Johnston County. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.co

UNC-Chapel Hill students play in the snow along Franklin Street in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2026, as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to the region. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

Several inches of snow begin to accumulate in downtown Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2026, as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to the region. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

Logan Cano blows snow from a sidewalk along Broadway Street on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Durham, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer

Snow falls as traffic moves along Interstate 85 on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Durham, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer

Snow falls as traffic moves along Interstate 85 on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Durham, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer

A smiley face is drawn in snow on the window of a car parked in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2026, as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to the region. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

A horse stands as snow begins to fall Saturday afternoon at Sunrise Community Farm Center in Orange County. Mark Schultz mschultz@newsobserver.com

A person walks past a mural as snow falls on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in downtown Durham, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown The News & Observer

Snow begins to accumulate on the edges of I-95 as drivers head south near Micro in Johnston County, Saturday morning. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com

A snowplow clears snow on East Cameron Avenue in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2026, as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to the region. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

UNC-Chapel Hill students play in the snow along Franklin Street in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2026, as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to the region. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 4:28 PM.

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January 31, 2026

Fairfax County is hoping you will adopt a fire hydrant during the next snowstorm – WTOP News

Got a little energy left over after shoveling your driveway? Fairfax County Fire and Rescue in Virginia is hoping you’ll use that shovel to help them clear a path around local fire hydrants.

Got a little energy left over after shoveling your driveway? Fairfax County Fire and Rescue in Virginia is hoping you’ll use that shovel to help them clear a path around fire hydrants.

Chip Galloway, the lead Geographic Information Systems analyst with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, said their Adopt a Hydrant program lets local residents find a fire hydrant near them to take care of.

“People are passionate about this, and they take pride in keeping their hydrant clear,” Galloway said.

In just the last week, they’ve approved 300 new adoptions, bringing the total number to more than 840.

And, believe it or not, there’s around 30,000 fire hydrants in the county. So there’s a lot to choose from.

“We view this program as a simple and easy way for residents to help support the fire department’s operations,” said John Woolverton, GIS analyst with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. “We’re just hoping to gain more (participation) essentially each year.”

When you adopt a hydrant, you’re asked to clear snow, brush and debris at least 3 feet around it.

“If the community can help out, shaving seconds off an emergency response can make a big difference. So if you can help your community, help with clearing the hydrant on your street, it may reduce the time in order to have that emergency response,” Galloway said.

To adopt a fire hydrant, head to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Adopt a Hydrant app, input an address and a list of available hydrants will pop up and you fill out an application.

“There’s an automated email that you’ll receive an adoption certificate, and a thanks from the department,” Woolverton said.

And as much as it might be tempting, they want you to stick to just cleaning and keeping the area clear.

“We ask that people not paint their hydrant or put decorations around it. The whole purpose of this program is to maintain that the hydrant is clear,” Galloway said.

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Valerie Bonk

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January 31, 2026

How cold is too cold for an outdoor workout, and just how dangerous is shoveling for your heart? – WTOP News

Even on frigid days, runners and cyclists may be out on area roads and bike paths making sure they get in a workout. For some people, the thought of braving temperatures in the teens and twenties seems dangerous, but is it?

Even on frigid days, runners and cyclists may be out on area roads and bike paths, making sure they get in a workout. For some people, the thought of braving temperatures in the teens and twenties seems dangerous, but is it?

“There is not necessarily a cut-off that has been defined, where we say no, don’t go out and exercise, it is not safe,” said Matt Barberio, an assistant professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Science at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

However, there are some groups who need to take precautions.

“If you are someone who has asthma or other respiratory conditions, we have extremely dry air right now, and that typically tends to exacerbate or agitate any respiratory conditions,” he said. “Those individuals will just want to communicate with their physicians about what’s best for them.”

There are two things to watch out for in cold weather: hypothermia – when the body’s temperature drops below 95 degrees, and frostbite.

When it comes to hypothermia, Barberio said, “You don’t really have an issue while you’re exercising, but if you do sweat and your clothes get wet; and then you stay outside for prolonged periods of time, that wet clothing could become problematic.”

Barberio said anyone heading out into the bitter cold for a workout should pay attention to the air temperature, the wind and the “feels-like temperature,” and dress accordingly to prevent frostbite.

He advised layering with gloves to keep hands and fingers warm. While year-round athletes may want to tough it out to get in their long runs or workouts, he said it’s important to listen to “what their bodies are telling them. If your fingers are getting very numb to the point where you’re experiencing pain in your fingertips, it’s time to go inside.”

Wearing a hat during a run or under a bike helmet is helpful, he said. Like gloves, Barberio said, a hat is “another one of those things where it’s an easy on-off layer.”

Cycling can generate a lot of heat, but Barberio said riders should avoid overdressing.

“Use what your body’s telling you. If you’re getting too hot while you exercise, take the layer off until you need to put it back on,” he said.

When coming back inside from a workout, Barberio said it’s best to let your body reacclimate to indoor temperatures before jumping into a hot shower. He also suggests some cool-down exercises to let your body adjust after your outdoor exertion.

Severe cold, shoveling and heart attacks

Shoveling snow is a physical activity that Barberio and Dr. Brian Choi, professor of medicine at George Washington University, said can increase the risk of a heart attack.

“Every snowstorm, and this one was no exception, we see people that have gotten themselves into trouble shoveling snow,” Choi said, “It’s a situation that’s best avoided.”

Choi explained that “snow shoveling is a uniquely challenging activity compared to other kinds of physical exertion.”

Often, when people shovel snow, their bodies perform something called the Valsalva maneuver.

“That’s where you actually hold your breath and create sort of a thoracic pressure,” Barberio said.

In cases where people experience a cardiac infarction while shoveling, Barberio said, “typically, those people already have an underlying risk for having a heart attack anyway.”

“We like to say that the best kind of exercise for the heart is aerobic activity, when you’re getting a lot of oxygen and continuous movement,” Choi said.

But when lifting shovels filled with snow – especially heavy, wet snow – “that heavy lifting can really increase the resistance that your heart has to pump against, and that’s the worst kind of activity for your heart,” Choi said.

“There’s plenty of folks out there that probably wouldn’t mind making an extra buck to shovel out your driveway or your walkway for you,” he added. “If you are unused to physical activity, I’d certainly recommend going that route as opposed to trying it on your own if you haven’t exercised in a while.”

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Kate Ryan

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January 30, 2026

‘It’s a fun job’: Neighbors help rid sidewalks of snow and ice for free

With all the snow and ice still on the streets after Sunday’s storm, one mayor in Maryland asked for volunteers to help clear sidewalks.For middle and high school students in Baltimore, it’s a chance to get credit for volunteer hours. For adults, it’s just the satisfaction of being a neighbor helping a neighbor.Volunteers come armed with shovels and clear walkways within minutes. They’re part of the Baltimore City Snow Corps, and their job is to break the ice and clear the snow — free of charge for homeowners.”I’m not going to lie. It’s very tedious. I (have fun) doing it,” said Joel Rodgers-Turner, a Snow Corps volunteer.”A mess. It’s just a mess. You have to really dig it up and take your time, though,” said Martrell Marshall, another volunteer.The program started with a call from Mayor Brandon Scott.”We are asking for people to help their neighbor. We want volunteers to help shovel out their neighbors across the city of Baltimore,” Scott said in a video posted to Instagram.”Mayor Brandon Scott. Big encouragement to come outside to help Baltimore City,” said Jordan Carter.Volunteers sign up and go to those in need — older adults, people with disabilities and others who may not be able to pick up a shovel and clear snow and ice from sidewalks.”The trucks are doing what they have to do on the streets, so we have to do what we have to do,” Carter said. “When you bring people help, they may help someone else. It’s better when we all come together and get it done. It’s going to get done a lot faster.”The group of volunteers said it has removed snow outside of 60 houses and off 80 cars throughout 12-hour shifts.”We do it quick, like 15 minutes. We’ll be in and out,” said Donta Crosby. “It’s really fun. It’s a fun job. I encourage everybody to volunteer and do it, too.”When volunteers aren’t working, they’re singing about the volunteer job they do.

With all the snow and ice still on the streets after Sunday’s storm, one mayor in Maryland asked for volunteers to help clear sidewalks.

For middle and high school students in Baltimore, it’s a chance to get credit for volunteer hours. For adults, it’s just the satisfaction of being a neighbor helping a neighbor.

Volunteers come armed with shovels and clear walkways within minutes. They’re part of the Baltimore City Snow Corps, and their job is to break the ice and clear the snow — free of charge for homeowners.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s very tedious. I (have fun) doing it,” said Joel Rodgers-Turner, a Snow Corps volunteer.

“A mess. It’s just a mess. You have to really dig it up and take your time, though,” said Martrell Marshall, another volunteer.

The program started with a call from Mayor Brandon Scott.

“We are asking for people to help their neighbor. We want volunteers to help shovel out their neighbors across the city of Baltimore,” Scott said in a video posted to Instagram.

“Mayor Brandon Scott. Big encouragement to come outside to help Baltimore City,” said Jordan Carter.

Volunteers sign up and go to those in need — older adults, people with disabilities and others who may not be able to pick up a shovel and clear snow and ice from sidewalks.

“The trucks are doing what they have to do on the streets, so we have to do what we have to do,” Carter said. “When you bring people help, they may help someone else. It’s better when we all come together and get it done. It’s going to get done a lot faster.”

The group of volunteers said it has removed snow outside of 60 houses and off 80 cars throughout 12-hour shifts.

“We do it quick, like 15 minutes. We’ll be in and out,” said Donta Crosby. “It’s really fun. It’s a fun job. I encourage everybody to volunteer and do it, too.”

When volunteers aren’t working, they’re singing about the volunteer job they do.

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January 29, 2026

DC officials acknowledge challenge of ‘snowcrete,’ say progress has been made – WTOP News

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that following Sunday’s winter storm, the city’s government agencies have been making progress in clearing the hardened snow from city streets.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that following Sunday’s winter storm, the city’s government agencies have been making progress in clearing the hardened snow from city streets.

“I want to just really start by giving a big thank you to the many people who have been working day and night, the last five days in the lead up to this storm and responding to this storm,” Bowser said at a news conference. “Our approach, our values when we go into these responses are very simple: how do we keep people safe and how do we get open?”

The mayor also made it clear that when the city reports roads are passable, that doesn’t mean cars are dug out or you can easily cross the street.

“We do need people to continue to focus on their sidewalks — businesses and residents,” Bowser said.

D.C. residents voiced frustrations on social media about uncleared crosswalks and unplowed streets days after the storm and questioned the city’s now response.

I’ve lived in DC for about 11.5 years now and I have never seen such an inept response to a snow storm as this one. Streets and sidewalks going completely unplowed and uncovered for two days. Feels like a total lack of preparation.

— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) January 27, 2026

D.C. Public Schools is one of the few school districts in the region that will open Thursday, operating on a 2-hour delay both Thursday and Friday. Buses from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and Metro will be helping get students to school.

Though Metrorail service operated on a weekend schedule Wednesday, Metro CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke said 122 of the region’s 126 bus routes are now operational, and continue to open day after day.

“I’m happy to announce we will run normal, 100% weekday service out on the system,” he said. “We believe by close of business today, we actually will have transported a million customers since the storm on Sunday.”

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said the school system’s decision to close from Monday through Wednesday gave them ample time to prepare school campuses and adjacent streets for when they reopened.

“We feel very confident in all the assessments that we’ve done over the past three days to ensure that our campuses are ready,” he said.

Clint Osborn, the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, called the snowstorm “exceptionally dangerous” because of the amount of snow that was covered in a “very thick layer of ice,” causing what he called “snowcrete.”

A cold weather advisory is in effect for most of the region as temperatures overnight into Thursday are expected to be in the single digits.

Agency leaders reiterated how the frigid temperatures contributed to the “snowcrete,” making it difficult to traverse and remove, and impacting their response to it.

Anthony Crispino, the interim director of the D.C. Department of Public Works, said clearing roads has been challenging due to extremely low temperatures and layers of ice, but crews have been working with 311 to identify service calls.

“We are going to … start moving in new heavy machinery on some of the more problematic streets to break up the hard pack, or the snowcrete, and then get it out of the way so that it’s passable, with the goal of making sure that everybody can navigate the streets safely,” Crispino said.

Crews have been hauling snow to the former RFK Stadium site, where a snow field is developing for storage, Crispino said.

The city is also suspending fines for residents and businesses that have not cleared sidewalks within the first eight hours after a storm due to the hard, packed-down nature of the snow.

D.C. Department of Transportation Director Sharon Kershbaum added that they’re hoping to soon allow cars to park in areas marked as “no parking on snow emergency.”

“Getting the snow out is critical, and I think you’re going to start to see over the next few days, big changes,” Kershbaum said.

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Ciara Wells

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January 28, 2026

Shoveling snow? Over-exertion and cold temps can raise your heart risks

Shoveling snow? Over-exertion and cold temps can raise your heart risks

ON SATURDAY. TIP OFF FOR THAT GAME IS EIGHT. MIGHT HAVE TO DIG OUT IF YOU’RE HEADED TO THAT GAME. THE SNOW STILL FALLING. BUT FOR A LOT OF US MAYBE ALREADY STARTED OR WILL CONTINUE DOING IS THAT TASK OF SHOVELING. AND WHILE IT MAY BE LIGHT SNOW, THERE ARE STILL IMPORTANT HEALTH REMINDERS TO KEEP IN MIND. DOCTOR JORGE PLUTZKY IS THE DIRECTOR OF PREVENTATIVE CARDIOLOGY AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL. DOCTOR PLUTZKY, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH US THIS MORNING. SURE. THANK YOU. WHAT DO YOU WORRY ABOUT MOST WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE HEADING OUT TO MOVE ALL OF THAT SNOW AROUND? WELL, FOR SOME PEOPLE, IT MAY BE THE FIRST TIME THEY’RE EXERTING THEMSELVES TO THAT LEVEL. AND WE KNOW THAT SHOVELING SNOW IS A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF EXERTION. YOU CAN VERY QUICKLY. STUDIES SUGGEST WITHIN TEN MINUTES REACH 100% OF YOUR MAXIMUM HEART RATE. AND SO FOR PEOPLE WITH A HISTORY OF HEART DISEASE OR JUST RISK FACTORS, THAT CAN BE QUITE AN EXERTION. IT’S LIKE SETTLING, DOING A MAXIMAL STRESS TEST AND BRINGING ON ISSUES RELATED TO THAT. DOC, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WARNING SIGNS THAT FOLKS OUT THERE MIGHT BE? YOU KNOW, WE TOUGH NEW ENGLANDERS WILL SAY, WELL, WE’LL WORK THROUGH IT. BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SIGNS THAT SOMETHING MAY BE SERIOUSLY HAPPENING AND YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A BREAK, HEAD ON INSIDE FOR A BIT. YES. YOU KNOW, THE CLASSIC SIGNS OF CHEST PAIN AND PERHAPS ASSOCIATED SHORTNESS OF BREATH, NAUSEA, RADIATION DOWN THE ARMS ARE CERTAINLY VERY VALID. BUT WE ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION TO MORE SUBTLE SIGNS LIKE CHEST PRESSURE, ACHING IN THE JAW, JUST THE THE NAUSEA CAN STILL BE RELEVANT. AND SO LISTENING TO YOUR BODY SLOWING DOWN, TAKING BREAKS AND STOPPING IF YOU’RE FEELING ANY OF THOSE IS GOOD ADVICE AND HIGHLY WARRANTED, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE OUT THERE IN THE COLD, WHICH MAY BE ITS OWN FACTOR FOR WHY THESE ISSUES ARISE. THE COLD CAN CONSTRICT ARTERIES AND MAKE THINGS WORSE, AND THERE REALLY IS NO MESSING AROUND WITH THIS. AND WE KNOW HEART ISSUES PRESENT DIFFERENTLY. BUT ARE THERE? AND MAYBE YOU JUST SPOKE ABOUT THIS MORE SUBTLE SIGNS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO DURING THIS KIND OF WEATHER. YEAH, IT’S THINGS LIKE I’M FEELING MORE SHORT OF BREATH THAN I THAN I WOULD EXPECT TO BE. I’M HAVING AN ACHE IN MY JAW OR IN MY NECK THAT IS SURPRISING AND FEELS DIFFERENT. THESE ARE ALL SIGNS TO PAY ATTENTION TO AND TO NOT PUSH IT, TO SORT THAT OUT. THE. THERE ARE VARIOUS STRATEGIES PEOPLE CAN TAKE TO HAVE LESS OF A LOAD, LIKE TAKING BREAKS, COVERING YOUR MOUTH SO YOU WARM THE AIR THAT’S ON ITS WAY IN TO NOT NECESSARILY SHOVEL AND LIFT, BECAUSE USING YOUR ARMS IS MORE OF AN EXERTION, BUT TO PUSH AND TO TO SWIPE. BUT YOU REALLY DO WANT TO LISTEN TO ANY, ANY SENSE YOU HAVE THAT SOMETHING’S OFF. INCLUDING THESE OTHER, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHAT ATYPICAL SYMPTOMS THAT AREN’T CLASSIC CHEST PAIN. EVEN THAT CHEST PRESSURE CAN BE A SIGN. IT’S BEEN FOUR YEARS SINCE WE HAD THIS AMOUNT OF SNOW, SO MAYBE FOLKS HAVEN’T HAD TO FACE IT FOR A WHILE. DOCTOR GEORGE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CARDIOLOGIST WITH MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM, WE THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING.

By The Associated Press undefined

Digging out from the weekend’s massive snow and ice storm could be hazardous to your heart.Pennsylvania health officials announced three snow-removal-related deaths on Sunday. All were between the ages of 60 and 84. The Lehigh County coroner’s office cautioned people to take breaks and avoid over-exerting themselves.Shoveling snow is heavy, hard work — research has shown that doing it for even a short time can make the heart work as hard as it does during a major workout. Adding to that stress, the cold temperatures cause blood vessels, including those feeding the heart, to constrict. That raises blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association.Snow shoveling is especially risky for anyone with known heart disease or who’s already survived a heart attack, as well as older adults and people with risk factors, including high blood pressure or cholesterol. People who think they’re healthy can get in trouble, too, with that combination of heavy exertion in cold weather – especially if they’re generally sedentary until a snowstorm comes along.The heart association advises that if you have to shovel, go slow and try to push the snow instead of lifting and throwing it. It also urges people to learn common warning signs of a heart attack and to call 911 if they experience them.

Digging out from the weekend’s massive snow and ice storm could be hazardous to your heart.

Pennsylvania health officials announced three snow-removal-related deaths on Sunday. All were between the ages of 60 and 84. The Lehigh County coroner’s office cautioned people to take breaks and avoid over-exerting themselves.

Shoveling snow is heavy, hard work — research has shown that doing it for even a short time can make the heart work as hard as it does during a major workout. Adding to that stress, the cold temperatures cause blood vessels, including those feeding the heart, to constrict. That raises blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association.

Snow shoveling is especially risky for anyone with known heart disease or who’s already survived a heart attack, as well as older adults and people with risk factors, including high blood pressure or cholesterol. People who think they’re healthy can get in trouble, too, with that combination of heavy exertion in cold weather – especially if they’re generally sedentary until a snowstorm comes along.

The heart association advises that if you have to shovel, go slow and try to push the snow instead of lifting and throwing it. It also urges people to learn common warning signs of a heart attack and to call 911 if they experience them.

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January 26, 2026

Colossal winter storm kills at least 18; hundreds of thousands without power across US

The workweek opened with yet more snow dumping on the Northeast under the tail end of a colossal winter storm that brought lingering misery to parts of the South, where freezing rain left hundreds of thousands shivering without electricity Monday. Authorities reported at least 18 weather-related deaths.Deep snow — over a foot extending in a 1,300-mile swath from Arkansas to New England — halted traffic, canceled flights and triggered wide school closures Monday. Up to two feet were forecast in some of the harder-hit places.There were more than 800,000 power outages in the nation on Monday morning, according to poweroutage.com. Most of them were in the South, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee.Utility officials in New Albany, Mississippi, said some homes and businesses could be without electricity for at least a week. In nearby Oxford, where most residents and University of Mississippi students were without power Monday, Mayor Robyn Tannehill said on social media that so many trees, limbs and power lines had fallen that “it looks like a tornado went down every street.”“Apparently, the new status symbol in this town is having electricity,” said Marshall Ramsey, a University of Mississippi journalism professor whose family was running a generator at their Oxford home Monday to power a space heater and keep phones charged.A pair of burly, falling tree branches damaged real estate agent Tim Phillips’ new garage, broke a window and cut off power to his home in Oxford. He said half of his neighbors had homes or vehicles damaged.“It’s just one of those things that you try to prepare for,” Phillips said, “but this one was just unreal.”The U.S. had more than 6,400 flight delays and cancellations nationwide Monday, according to flight tracker flightaware.com.More light to moderate snow was forecast in New England through Monday evening.New York City saw its snowiest day in years, with 11 inches falling on Central Park. Main roads throughout the city were largely clear Monday morning, but pedestrians had to plod through snow on some sidewalks and multiple subway lines with above-ground tracks saw delays.Bitter cold grips much of the nationMeanwhile, bitter cold followed in the storm’s wake. It got down to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Minnesota on Sunday. Many communities across the Midwest, South, and Northeast awakened Monday to subzero weather. The entire Lower 48 states were forecast to have their coldest average low temperature of minus 9.8 F — since January 2014.Record warmth in Florida was the only thing keeping that average from going even colder, said former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue, who calculates national averages based on National Weather Service data.From Montana to the Florida Panhandle, the weather service posted cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings as temperatures in many places dipped to zero and even colder. Wind made conditions even chillier and the overnight cold refoze roads early Monday in a cruel reprise of the weekend’s lousy travel weather.Even with precipitation ending in Mississippi, “that doesn’t mean the danger is behind us,” Gov. Tate Reeves said in a news conference Sunday.Freezing rain that slickened roads and brought trees and branches down on roads and power lines were the main peril in the South over the weekend. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees at its remanufacturing site to stay home Monday and Tuesday.It already was Mississippi’s worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals — 200,000 gallons — plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Reeves said. He urged people not to drive anywhere unless absolutely necessary. “Do please reach out to friends and family,” Reeves added.At one point Sunday morning, about 213 million people were under some sort of winter weather warning, authorities said.Some 12,000 flights also were canceled Sunday and nearly 20,000 were delayed.Storm leads to deaths in a number of statesIn New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people who died were found outside as temperatures plunged Saturday, though the cause of their deaths remained under investigation. Two men died of hypothermia related to the storm in Caddo Parish in Louisiana, according to the state health department.In Massachusetts, police said a snowplow backed into a couple walking in a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority parking lot in Norwood on Sunday. A 51-year-old woman was killed and her 47-year-old husband was hospitalized.Two teenagers died in sledding accidents, a 17-year-old boy in Arkansas, and a 16-year-old girl in Texas, authorities said.Three weather-related deaths were announced in Tennessee, authorities said. Further details were not immediately available.___Amy reported from Atlanta. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. AP journalists Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Kath McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; David Caruso in New York; Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this story.

The workweek opened with yet more snow dumping on the Northeast under the tail end of a colossal winter storm that brought lingering misery to parts of the South, where freezing rain left hundreds of thousands shivering without electricity Monday. Authorities reported at least 18 weather-related deaths.

Deep snow — over a foot extending in a 1,300-mile swath from Arkansas to New England — halted traffic, canceled flights and triggered wide school closures Monday. Up to two feet were forecast in some of the harder-hit places.

There were more than 800,000 power outages in the nation on Monday morning, according to poweroutage.com. Most of them were in the South, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee.

Utility officials in New Albany, Mississippi, said some homes and businesses could be without electricity for at least a week. In nearby Oxford, where most residents and University of Mississippi students were without power Monday, Mayor Robyn Tannehill said on social media that so many trees, limbs and power lines had fallen that “it looks like a tornado went down every street.”

“Apparently, the new status symbol in this town is having electricity,” said Marshall Ramsey, a University of Mississippi journalism professor whose family was running a generator at their Oxford home Monday to power a space heater and keep phones charged.

A pair of burly, falling tree branches damaged real estate agent Tim Phillips’ new garage, broke a window and cut off power to his home in Oxford. He said half of his neighbors had homes or vehicles damaged.

“It’s just one of those things that you try to prepare for,” Phillips said, “but this one was just unreal.”

The U.S. had more than 6,400 flight delays and cancellations nationwide Monday, according to flight tracker flightaware.com.

More light to moderate snow was forecast in New England through Monday evening.

New York City saw its snowiest day in years, with 11 inches falling on Central Park. Main roads throughout the city were largely clear Monday morning, but pedestrians had to plod through snow on some sidewalks and multiple subway lines with above-ground tracks saw delays.

Bitter cold grips much of the nation

Meanwhile, bitter cold followed in the storm’s wake. It got down to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Minnesota on Sunday. Many communities across the Midwest, South, and Northeast awakened Monday to subzero weather. The entire Lower 48 states were forecast to have their coldest average low temperature of minus 9.8 F — since January 2014.

Record warmth in Florida was the only thing keeping that average from going even colder, said former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue, who calculates national averages based on National Weather Service data.

From Montana to the Florida Panhandle, the weather service posted cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings as temperatures in many places dipped to zero and even colder. Wind made conditions even chillier and the overnight cold refoze roads early Monday in a cruel reprise of the weekend’s lousy travel weather.

Even with precipitation ending in Mississippi, “that doesn’t mean the danger is behind us,” Gov. Tate Reeves said in a news conference Sunday.

Freezing rain that slickened roads and brought trees and branches down on roads and power lines were the main peril in the South over the weekend. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees at its remanufacturing site to stay home Monday and Tuesday.

It already was Mississippi’s worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals — 200,000 gallons — plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Reeves said. He urged people not to drive anywhere unless absolutely necessary. “Do please reach out to friends and family,” Reeves added.

At one point Sunday morning, about 213 million people were under some sort of winter weather warning, authorities said.

Some 12,000 flights also were canceled Sunday and nearly 20,000 were delayed.

Storm leads to deaths in a number of states

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people who died were found outside as temperatures plunged Saturday, though the cause of their deaths remained under investigation. Two men died of hypothermia related to the storm in Caddo Parish in Louisiana, according to the state health department.

In Massachusetts, police said a snowplow backed into a couple walking in a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority parking lot in Norwood on Sunday. A 51-year-old woman was killed and her 47-year-old husband was hospitalized.

Two teenagers died in sledding accidents, a 17-year-old boy in Arkansas, and a 16-year-old girl in Texas, authorities said.

Three weather-related deaths were announced in Tennessee, authorities said. Further details were not immediately available.

___

Amy reported from Atlanta. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. AP journalists Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Kath McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; David Caruso in in New York; Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana sand Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this story.

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January 26, 2026

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo goes on as planned, with thin crowds, despite snow

Much of North Texas is shut down under a layer of frozen snow, but nothing will stop the rodeo.

Dickies Arena was nearly empty ahead of the scheduled 2 p.m. rodeo on Sunday. The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo has said it is unable to cancel or reschedule events, and the organization plans for weather situations like this.

Snow covers the ground at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo barns on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Fort Worth. The stock show continued despite the winter weather. Communications director Matt Brockman encouraged folks coming to the show to bundle up and travel safe if they plan on coming this weekend None amccoy@star-telegram.com

The rodeo may have been sparsely attended, but the Stock Show barns at Will Rogers Memorial Center were a bustle of activity. Children took time away from caring for their livestock to have snow fights and pull each other on sleds.

“It’s definitely colder than usual,” said Deanna Roeder, as she and her son, Holden, 12, gathered hay while snowflakes hung in the air. The Roeders, from Seguin, were at the Stock Show since Thursday to show Holden’s Heifer.

Seguin resident Deanna Roeder, right, and her son, Holden, 12, gather hay for their heifer showing at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Fort Worth. None amccoy@star-telegram.com

Stock show and rodeo staff are ready for “whatever may come our way,” FWSSR communications director Matt Brockman told the Star-Telegram last week. “This is something that we plan and prepare for in advance each year,” Brockman noted.

❄️🌡️ Winter storm in North Texas:

FWSSR prepares for winter freeze

Throughout the 23-day event every year, Brockman said the FWSSR keeps in daily contact with the city of Fort Worth.

To that end, the city’s transportation and public works departments will be ready to ensure that the surrounding streets around Dickies Arena and the Will Rogers Memorial Center will be cleared as soon as possible in the event of ice or snow. The city has sanding and salting crews ready to go, Brockman added.

For streets inside the center, that responsibility falls to the Will Rogers’ staff, which is also ready to go with salt and sand. The goal is to have clear walkways for people and livestock.

“Those actions will be implemented as soon as they need to be, when freezing precipitation does begin to accumulate,” Brockman said.

Snow clings to the hide of cattle at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Fort Worth. The stock show continued despite the winter weather. Communications director Matt Brockman encouraged folks coming to the show to bundle up and travel safe if they plan on coming this weekend None amccoy@star-telegram.com

A plus for the FWSSR is that most of its events are located indoors.

For operations located outside, like the carnival, Brockman said there’s a possibility that those would temporarily close during any freezing precipitation.

Beyond that, the show (and rodeos) will go on.

“We just urge people to, first, be careful, second, layer up and get comfortable, and come out,” Brockman said.

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo has a no refund/no exchange policy on rodeo tickets, which are valid only for their scheduled performances.

Cooper Walters, 17, washes off his Chianina with hot water while preparing to show at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. None amccoy@star-telegram.com

FWSSR rides on

This year marks the 129th edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

Since 1896, the event celebrating Western culture, cowboys and agriculture has brought millions of people to Fort Worth from around the world. The 23-day event is Jan. 16 to Feb. 7 at Dickies Arena and Will Rogers Memorial Center.

There’s plenty to do and see, from daily rodeos and live music to cattle shows and merchandise galore. The Star-Telegram put together a guide for everything, from tickets and parking to live music and rodeo schedules.

Brayden Garcia

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Brayden Garcia is a service journalism reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Brayden mainly writes about weather and all things Taylor Sheridan-related.

Amanda McCoy

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Amanda McCoy is a visual journalist that produces daily and documentary videos. Before moving to Fort Worth in 2018, she spent 11 years telling the stories of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. She is a native of Michigan and graduate of Michigan State University.

Brayden Garcia,Amanda McCoy

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January 25, 2026

See photos of winter storm in NC, monks on their chilly journey

A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity.

Travis Long

tlong@newsobserver.com

Much of North Carolina is being impacted by a major winter storm bringing snow and ice, along with expected power outages to the area.

A procession of Buddhist monks continued their 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity, despite the cold and icy conditions.

Here are photos from our continual coverage of the storm. Check back often for updates.

A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh, N.C. on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

Traffic is light on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Brandon Chapman with the City of Raleigh Department of Transportation applies ice melt in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Traffic is light on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Vehicles slowing make their way east and west on US 64 in Apex, Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com

This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 9:36 AM.

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January 25, 2026

Thousands of flights canceled as major winter storm moves across the US

Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.”What really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it’s just going to get so cold,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts.”Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. As crews in some southern states began working to restore downed power lines, officials in some eastern states issued final warnings to residents. “We are expecting a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday while announcing restrictions on commercial vehicle travel and a 35 mph speed limit on highways. She added: “It’s a good weekend to stay indoors.”Little Rock, Arkansas, was covered with sleet and snow Saturday, giving Chris Plank doubts about whether he would be able to make a five-hour drive to Dallas for work on Sunday. While some snow is a yearly event, Plank was concerned most about the ice.”All of the power lines are above ground, so it doesn’t take very much to end up in the dark,” Plank said.Forecasters say the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane. Around 120,000 power outages were reported in the path of the winter storm Saturday afternoon, including about 53,000 in Texas and 45,000 in Louisiana, according to poweroutage.us.In Shelby County, Texas, near the Louisiana border, ice weighed down on pine trees and caused branches to snap, downing power lines. About a third of the county’s 16,000 residents were without power on Saturday.”We have hundreds of trees down and a lot of limbs in the road,” Shelby County Commissioner Stevie Smith said from his pickup truck. “I’ve got my crew out clearing roads as fast as we can. It’s a lot to deal with right now.”All Saturday flights were canceled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma’s biggest airport. More than 12,000 flights were canceled Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, a major hub, saw more than 700 departing flights canceled on Saturday and nearly as many arriving flights called off. Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted. “Please, if you can avoid it, do not drive, do not travel, do not do anything that can potentially place you or your loved ones in danger,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday. “Instead, I urge every New Yorker who can to put a warm sweater on, turn on the TV, watch ‘Mission Impossible’ for the 10th time, above all to stay inside.” Officials in Georgia advised people in the state’s northern regions to get off the roads by sundown Saturday and be prepared to stay put for at least 48 hours.Will Lanxton, the senior state meteorologist, said Georgia could get “perhaps the biggest ice storm we have expected in more than a decade,” followed by unusually cold temperatures. “Ice is a whole different ballgame than snow,” Lanxton said. “Ice, you can’t do anything with. You can’t drive on it. It’s much more likely to bring down power lines and trees.”Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.”We’re going to do what we can to keep the ice from sticking to the roads,” McMurry said. “This is going to be a challenge.” The Midwest saw windchills as low as minus 40 Fahrenheit, meaning that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes. The minus 36 F reading in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning was the coldest in almost 30 years.In Minneapolis, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but protesters calling for ICE to leave Minnesota on Saturday still faced an outdoor temperature of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit.Workers from The Orange Tent Project, a Chicago nonprofit that provides cold-weather tents and other supplies to unhoused people throughout the city, went out to check on those who did not or could not seek shelter.”Seeing the forecasted weather, I knew we had to come out and do this today,” said CEO Morgan McLuckie. Churches moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.School superintendents in Philadelphia and Houston announced that schools would be closed Monday.Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.Around the southeast, people used the cancellations to have some fun. On a hill outside the Capitol building in Nashville, adult sledders on green discs and inflatable pool animals giggled with joy as they slid in the snow. President Donald Trump said via social media on Friday that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials, and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.” Nine states have requested emergency declarations, according to a FEMA briefing document released Saturday. The declarations can unlock federal emergency resources. Trump on Friday approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, and requests from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia were still pending as of Saturday morning.”I think there are two parts of this storm that make it unique. One is just a broad expanse of spatial coverage of this event … You’ve got 2,000 miles of country that’s being impacted by the storm with snow, sleet, and freezing rain,” said Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. “The other part of this storm that’s really impressive is what’s going to happen right afterward. We’re looking at extreme cold, record cold.” Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Julie Walker in New York, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, George Walker in Nashville and Laura Bargfeld in Chicago contributed to this report. Amy reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

OKLAHOMA CITY —

Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.

Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.

“What really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it’s just going to get so cold,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts.”

Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. As crews in some southern states began working to restore downed power lines, officials in some eastern states issued final warnings to residents.

“We are expecting a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday while announcing restrictions on commercial vehicle travel and a 35 mph speed limit on highways. She added: “It’s a good weekend to stay indoors.”

Little Rock, Arkansas, was covered with sleet and snow Saturday, giving Chris Plank doubts about whether he would be able to make a five-hour drive to Dallas for work on Sunday. While some snow is a yearly event, Plank was concerned most about the ice.

“All of the power lines are above ground, so it doesn’t take very much to end up in the dark,” Plank said.

Forecasters say the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.

Around 120,000 power outages were reported in the path of the winter storm Saturday afternoon, including about 53,000 in Texas and 45,000 in Louisiana, according to poweroutage.us.

In Shelby County, Texas, near the Louisiana border, ice weighed down on pine trees and caused branches to snap, downing power lines. About a third of the county’s 16,000 residents were without power on Saturday.

“We have hundreds of trees down and a lot of limbs in the road,” Shelby County Commissioner Stevie Smith said from his pickup truck. “I’ve got my crew out clearing roads as fast as we can. It’s a lot to deal with right now.”

All Saturday flights were canceled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma’s biggest airport.

More than 12,000 flights were canceled Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, a major hub, saw more than 700 departing flights canceled on Saturday and nearly as many arriving flights called off. Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted.

“Please, if you can avoid it, do not drive, do not travel, do not do anything that can potentially place you or your loved ones in danger,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday. “Instead, I urge every New Yorker who can to put a warm sweater on, turn on the TV, watch ‘Mission Impossible’ for the 10th time, above all to stay inside.”

Officials in Georgia advised people in the state’s northern regions to get off the roads by sundown Saturday and be prepared to stay put for at least 48 hours.

Will Lanxton, the senior state meteorologist, said Georgia could get “perhaps the biggest ice storm we have expected in more than a decade,” followed by unusually cold temperatures.

“Ice is a whole different ballgame than snow,” Lanxton said. “Ice, you can’t do anything with. You can’t drive on it. It’s much more likely to bring down power lines and trees.”

Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.

“We’re going to do what we can to keep the ice from sticking to the roads,” McMurry said. “This is going to be a challenge.”

The Midwest saw windchills as low as minus 40 Fahrenheit, meaning that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes. The minus 36 F reading in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning was the coldest in almost 30 years.

In Minneapolis, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but protesters calling for ICE to leave Minnesota on Saturday still faced an outdoor temperature of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Workers from The Orange Tent Project, a Chicago nonprofit that provides cold-weather tents and other supplies to unhoused people throughout the city, went out to check on those who did not or could not seek shelter.

“Seeing the forecasted weather, I knew we had to come out and do this today,” said CEO Morgan McLuckie.

Churches moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.

School superintendents in Philadelphia and Houston announced that schools would be closed Monday.

Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.

Around the southeast, people used the cancellations to have some fun. On a hill outside the Capitol building in Nashville, adult sledders on green discs and inflatable pool animals giggled with joy as they slid in the snow.

President Donald Trump said via social media on Friday that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials, and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.”

Nine states have requested emergency declarations, according to a FEMA briefing document released Saturday. The declarations can unlock federal emergency resources. Trump on Friday approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, and requests from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia were still pending as of Saturday morning.

“I think there are two parts of this storm that make it unique. One is just a broad expanse of spatial coverage of this event … You’ve got 2,000 miles of country that’s being impacted by the storm with snow, sleet, and freezing rain,” said Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. “The other part of this storm that’s really impressive is what’s going to happen right afterward. We’re looking at extreme cold, record cold.”

Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Julie Walker in New York, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, George Walker in Nashville and Laura Bargfeld in Chicago contributed to this report. Amy reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

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January 25, 2026

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