A historic massive winter storm named “Winter Storm Fern” is currently wreaking havoc across 35 states in the United States, covering a vast expanse of over 3,000 kilometers. From the southern state of Texas to the northern state of New York, approximately 230 million people, about two-thirds of the population, are under various extreme weather alerts.
As of Saturday, nearly ten thousand weekend flights in the U.S. have been canceled, and 18 states and the District of Columbia have declared states of emergency to cope with the severe cold challenge that could potentially result in “catastrophic” damages.
This storm has triggered the most severe transportation paralysis in the United States since 2025. According to real-time data from flight tracking website FlightAware, air traffic has been severely disrupted.
On Saturday, over 3,300 flights have been delayed or canceled nationwide; and nearly 6,000 flights scheduled to take off on Sunday have already been announced as grounded. The total number of cancellations is approaching the 10,000 mark.
In Michigan, over 100 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 196, including 40 semi-trucks, leading to hours of traffic interruption. Authorities described the road conditions as “extremely treacherous,” with visibility nearly zero.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp both publicly urged residents to “stay at home if possible.”
Meteorologists warned that the destructive power of the “Fern” storm comes from the combination of “deadly low temperatures” and “heavy icing.”
In Bismarck, North Dakota, the wind chill has dropped to a bone-chilling minus 41 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately minus 41 degrees Celsius). In such conditions, exposed skin can suffer severe frostbite in just 10 minutes outdoors.
The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that a one-inch-thick layer of ice will cover a vast area stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. The thick layer of ice not only renders roads impassable but also poses the risk of breaking power lines, leading to prolonged power outages. The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) has issued power supply alerts to cope with energy shortages in the extreme cold.
In the face of such widespread disaster, the federal government and several state governors have activated their highest-level defense mechanisms.
President Trump announced via the social media platform X on Friday that the administration is maintaining 24-hour coordination with state officials. Trump emphasized, “The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is fully prepared, and we are providing full support to the states to tackle this historic challenge.”
According to federal officials, FEMA has deployed over 7 million meals, 600,000 blankets, and 300 industrial-grade generators in the anticipated disaster areas primarily in the southern and mid-Atlantic states, and nearly 30 search and rescue teams are on standby.
The 18 states that have declared states of emergency include Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, and Missouri.
The storm has sparked panic buying nationwide, with many supermarket shelves being cleared.
In Kentucky and Oklahoma, people are queuing up to purchase snow shovels and de-icing supplies. In Baltimore, convenience store owner Ayaz Ahmed told the Associated Press that “every person entering the store is talking about this storm.”
Multiple school districts, including those in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Oklahoma City, have announced school closures on Monday, and even some universities in the southern regions have warned of suspending in-person classes.
In Detroit, Michigan, a nonprofit organization has hastily set up 80 folding beds in a sports arena. City officials stated that with temperatures dropping into “dangerous territory,” multiple warming centers have been opened to assist the homeless in weathering the storm.
The core of the storm is moving towards the northeast, with New York City and Boston expecting over 30 centimeters of snow. This “Winter Storm Fern” is forecasted to continue impacting until next Monday, with the risk of power outages and transportation delays remaining extremely high.