Over 8,000 flights cancelled as major winter storm hits US

Over 8,000 flights cancelled as major winter storm hits US

US braces as winter storm causes 8,000 flight cancellations. Al Jazeera

January, 24 2026

(Web Desk): Over 8,000 flights have been cancelled as a major winter storm spreads across the US, bringing heavy snow and ice from east Texas to North Carolina.

At least 3,400 flights were delayed or cancelled on Saturday, while more than 5,000 were called off for Sunday, according to FlightAware.

Parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas saw snow on Friday as the storm combined with Arctic cold, threatening to hit much of the country over the weekend.

“This is a mean storm,” said Jacob Asherman, meteorologist at the US Weather Prediction Center in Maryland. He called it the largest storm of the season in both intensity and reach.

Extreme wind-chill temperatures dropped below minus 45 degrees Celsius in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Asherman warned that exposure without proper clothing “can lead to hypothermia very, very quickly.”

The worst ice conditions were expected in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, with up to an inch of ice likely on trees, power lines, and roads.

Governors in more than a dozen states issued warnings, declared emergencies, or urged residents to stay home. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state Department of Transportation was pretreating roads and advised people to “stay home if possible.”

Utility companies prepared for widespread power outages as ice-coated trees and lines could fall even after the storm passes.

President Donald Trump said the administration was coordinating with state and local officials and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was “fully prepared to respond.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, facing his first major storm in office, announced that the sanitation department would become “the nation’s largest snow-fighting operation” to handle the expected snowfall on Sunday.

The storm is testing emergency services across the US. Travel disruptions are massive with thousands of flights cancelled. Extreme cold and ice create serious risks. Authorities are urging people to stay home and prepare for outages.