Powerful winter storm hits U.S., disrupting flights and knocking out power

A powerful winter storm swept across large parts of the U.S. on Friday, battering the Midwest ahead of an incoming Arctic freeze that will bring bone-chilling temperatures. 

The massive storm brought freezing temperatures and heavy snow that covered roads, grounded flights and knocked out power.

As of 5.30 p.m. ET, a total of 2,058 flights in or out of the country were canceled, the highest number since July 2023, and 5,846 flights were delayed due to the massive storm, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) has issued weather alerts in nearly every state.

By 6 a.m. on January 12, more than 10 centimeters of snow had fallen in parts of the midwestern state of Iowa. Temperatures are expected to drop as low as minus 42 degrees Celsius in Iowa, where there are concerns the bad weather could dampen turnout at the state's caucuses on Monday.

In parts of the south-central state of Texas, the NWS issued a wind chill watch through Saturday, and warned of hypothermia and frostbite. It predicted wind chills there could drop to minus 32 degrees Celsius. The low temperature in the state has prompted concerns among the energy suppliers, which saw the power grid collapse in 2021. 

Although Texas Governor Greg Abbott said power would stay on throughout the entirety of the winter storm episode, there were still more than 3,000 power outages on Friday afternoon in the city of Houston, according to CenterPoint Energy, a local distributor.

In the Midwest state of Illinois, over 80,000 residents were without power as of Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

Wind chills up to 35 degrees below zero were predicted in northern Missouri. The NWS warned that the cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Wind chill warnings ranging from minus 48 degrees Celsius to minus 37 degrees Celsius have also been issued across the northwest, from Washington to North Dakota, and down to Nebraska and Kansas.