Megastorm Knocks Out Power to 800,000+ and More Than 11,000 Flights
Dale Hurd : Jan 26, 2026
CBN News
Dangerous driving conditions stretched approximately 2,000 miles.
[CBN News] From coast to coast, nearly 200 million Americans felt the dangerous blast of the weekend winter storm carrying heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain. (Screengrab image: via CBN News)
Highways turned into ice rinks and airports shut down. The death toll has risen above 12 as more than 800,000 people are still without power, leaving many facing the frigid cold in their homes.
From New Mexico in the southwest all the way to New England, a dangerous mix of heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain has affected more than half of Americans.
At least 20 governors declared states of emergency.
Airlines canceled more than 11,000 US flights for Sunday. That's the most for a single day since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One stranded passenger said, "I've been stuck here and I'll be stuck here for two more days."
A private plane carrying 8 people crashed after taking off from Bangor, Maine. Still no word on injuries.
More than 800,000 power outages were reported across 11 states. Tennessee was hit especially hard.
One homeowner said, "We're going to have to stay at a friend's house who has heat. We don't have anything." (Screengrab image: via CBN News)
In Louisiana, two men died of hypothermia.
In New York City, at least 6 deaths are linked to the storm.
North of Dallas, a 14-inch water main burst, flooding streets and forcing officials to shut off water to homes.
Dangerous driving conditions stretched approximately 2,000 miles.
The National Guard was deployed in Arkansas to help move stranded vehicles out of the snow.
In Mississippi, crews were clearing the streets, with officials urging people to stay off the roads.
Boston and parts of New England braced for up to two feet of snow, while parts of New York and Pennsylvania got more than a foot – the most the areas have seen in years.
Just north of Washington, DC, CBN News White House Correspondent Kelly Wright's neighborhood saw a foot of snow.
"This is a ruler, and it's not the most scientific way of doing things, but I'm going to stick this 12-inch ruler into the ground to see how deep it goes to get a sense of the accumulation right here in my own neighborhood. As you can see, that is pretty deep," Wright said.
Along the Virginia-North Carolina border, freezing rain brought down trees, took out power, and turned roads into ice rinks.
Meanwhile, in the nation's capital, some folks tried to make the best of it, with a giant snowball fight. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here
Dale Hurd utilizes his four decades of experience to provide cutting-edge analysis of the most important events affecting our world.