CBC Lite Sections News • World Winter storm snarls traffic, upends air travel across the U.S. The Associated Press | Posted: January 24, 2026 1:04 PM | Last Updated: 12 hours ago Forecasters say damage could rival that of a hurricane in some areas Image | Winter Weather Missouri Caption: A person carries a shovel while walking down a snow-covered street in St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday. (eff Roberson/The Associated Press) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were cancelled 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 were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The U.S. National Weather Service forecast warns of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, six millimetres 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 mile per hour speed limit on highways. She added: "It's a good weekend to stay indoors." Image | APTOPIX Winter Weather Tennessee Caption: Pedestrians cross the street during a winter storm in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday. (George Walker IV/The Associated Press) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Little Rock, Ark., 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. * Extreme cold across Canada heaps pressure on utility companies, airlines Forecasters warned that 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. Image | Winter Weather Oklahoma Caption: An aerial view show Tulsa, Okla., blanketed with snow on Saturday. (Mike Simons/Tulsa World/The Associated Press) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab 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 cancelled 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. Image | 2257451117 Caption: Workers de-ice an airplane at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab More than 12,000 flights were cancelled 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 cancelled 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 30 to 60 centimetres of snow from Washington, D.C., 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." More Stories Like This The related links below are generated automatically based on the story you’ve just read. Loading... CBC Lite is a low-bandwidth website. To see what's new, check out our release notes. For high quality images, media, comments, and other additional features visit the full version of this story. We and select advertising partners use trackers to collect some of your data in order to enhance your experience and to deliver personalized content and advertising. If you are not comfortable with the use of this information, please review your device and browser privacy settings before continuing your visit. 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