Posted on 01/22/2026 12:39:52 AM PST by Morgana
A state of emergency was declared in several states ahead of a massive winter storm that could bring more than a foot of snow to much of the country.
More than 200 million people across parts of 30 states now face winter storm warnings from Friday through Sunday.
Meteorologists were expected to issue more within the next couple of days and upgrade some to winter storm warnings as the storm approaches.
When the blizzard hits, temperatures are expected to plunge as much as 30 degrees below normal in the Dakotas and Michigan, with the wind chill falling between 35 and 50 degrees below zero in some parts, according to the Weather Channel.
The National Weather Service now warns that 'nearly everyone east of the Rockies' will see some effect from the snow, ice or cold from Friday into early next week.
A state of emergency is now in effect in South Carolina, allowing state officials to mobilize resources, activate the National Guard and coordinate response efforts, and in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott activated the state emergency response resources on Tuesday to prepare for the storm.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein also declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, telling residents: 'A winter storm is approaching and now is the time to prepare.'
'Please get ready. Get everything you need in advance of the storm and have a plan in case your power goes out,' he urged North Carolinians, encouraging them to 'stay home and off the roads this weekend unless absolutely necessary, so first responders can do their jobs safely and effectively.'
Maryland Governor Wes Moore made a similar plea to residents as he declared a 'State of Preparedness' to boost the state's response and collaborations for potential impacts from the storm.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
We’re in Atlanta and they are predicting an ice event to rival 1994. My sister is in Gainesville and our rural property is about 25 miles north of her in Cornelia. She just texted me that the weather service is now predicting the worst of the ice will be in Gainesville, Cornelia and Athens.
Mr. GG2 is up at our property in Cornelia loading up full propane canisters from our shed and a Buddy portable heater that’s still in the box to bring it back to Atlanta. He was in Lowes earlier and they told him that they got 5 pallets of generators delivered this morning and they’re all sold out already.
We always lose electric at our house so even with our generator and brand new fireplace courtesy of a tree falling on our roof its going to be a miserable weekend.
ICE is great, but Ice from the sky is terrible. Prayers and good luck this weekend.
I’ll look those up, thanks for the suggestions.
They all sound great to me.
Maybe late summer when the vacation clock is about to rollover I’d love to visit.
Getting the spouse interested might be a tough sell.
I’m terribly concerned for the owners and customers of all the Somali daycares in Minneapolis. I hope they don’t freeze like Popsicles.
its very easy, besides 75 below wind chill is standard, its fun to walk in ll bundled up. I have done that a few time, or 63 below zero air temp car no start.
HAHAH exploding tree line.. I in 17yrs of living in northern minnesota ever saw a tree explode from very cold air temps.. just more weather channel hype too freek the people out.
The track keeps shifting north: There is now a band of likely 12”-18” totals JUST to our north, while the heavier prediction was ~50 miles south of us, yesterday. Now WE have a likelihood of a serious sleet storm in the middle, and fairly significant freezing rain, too. I really hope NWS is wrong about the freezing rain. We are still pegged for 11” of snow, too, and below freezing temps are now extended into next Thursday. At least 2 nights will be near 0 deg. F, but at least the wind backs off, those nights.
This is not going to be fun.
I called our closest Rural King to see if they are well stocked on chicken feed and bird seed: “Yes”, but the gal who answered volunteered that they are already out of propane and salt. Fortunately, we are good on those.
There is probably extra gas, because local distribution to residences in Kyiv and other cities is disrupted by Russian attacks.
That’s hardly a case of sensationalism. The area of greatest impact simply moved a bit, away from the poster, with an increase in the snowfall forecast to their north, and a decrease for them.
Ditto in a sense for us, but in the other direction. The original forecast was for a once-in-5 years event. Make it 10 years now. The forecast could still be a bust, but the models are all very close, now. History is very clear on that.
I wouldn’t call myself even an amateur forecaster, but, the basics here pretty clearly indicate an unusually heavy snowfall for this region, somewhere in this region. All the basic ingredients look strong: Moisture, cold, winds, and lift. Almost certainly there will be a few un-necessary deaths of people unprepared, etc. :-(
Take N. Idaho for instance. ALWAYS calling for huge snows up here in the mountains, near term forecasts and long term forecasts. hit rate of 30%. I tend to take them seriously and prepare. I'm just aware of the reality that they work for services that need viewers to make money.
But, I do appreciate your optimism of meteorological science.
BTW, we have like 3 years yet to live....due to global warming and such. There's separate load of weather BS.
They do that here in middle TN. It’s usually never that bad.
We have the ability. It’s usually just salt mixture.
The last big ice storm we had was 1993.
The weather isn’t the problem here. It’s people panicking. I’ve been to my favorite local grocery store the last 3 days.
Yesterday the place was packed and the shelves emptying. Today it was lighter and restocked.
Tell me about it. I drove around my local Publix for 10 minutes before I got a decent spot.
About 12 years ago in middle TN we got snow, then sleet, then more snow and then some ice.
Quite crunchy. It was 9 degrees. I went to the hot tub.
Two days ago, they were calling for ten inches of snow (East Tennessee)...now it has been ‘downgraded’ to an inch or so. Looks like rain, from the looks of things...too warm.
Two days ago, they were calling for ten inches of snow (East Tennessee)...now it has been ‘downgraded’ to an inch or so. Looks like rain, from the looks of things...too warm.
🤞
This event is NOT a ‘blizzard’...storm? Yes. Blizzard? No.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.