170 million Americans prepare for catastrophic ice storm this weekend

Millions of Americans from New Mexico to the Carolinas prepared Friday for a potentially catastrophic ice storm expected to batter the country through the weekend, the National Weather Service said. The system threatened heavy snow and crippling ice that could knock out power for days and make travel nearly impossible across major metropolitan areas. More than 170 million people — roughly half the U.S. population — were in the path of the storm, according to the agency.

The system represented one of the winter’s most consequential weather events, with forecasters warning of ice accumulation sufficient to topple trees and power lines, widespread power outages lasting multiple days, and severe travel disruptions across the Northeast corridor and South.

Storm Path and Precipitation Expected

The weather system began early Friday and was forecast to continue through the weekend, bringing an atmospheric river of moisture that would deposit snow, freezing rain and sleet from Texas and the Gulf Coast across Georgia and the Carolinas before heading northeast, the National Weather Service said.

The most significant snow was expected to accumulate along the Interstate 95 corridor, with major cities including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston all facing the potential for a foot or more of snow that could make travel very difficult or nearly impossible.

For much of the South and Southeast, the primary threat was ice accumulation rather than snow. The National Weather Service warned of potential ice accumulation of half an inch or more across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee — the threshold at which ice storms become crippling enough to topple trees and power lines and create widespread power outages that could last for days.

Transportation Disruptions

The storm’s impact on air travel began immediately. More than 1,500 flights scheduled to fly through U.S. airports on Saturday had been canceled by Friday morning, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Airports in Dallas, Atlanta, Oklahoma and Tennessee experienced the highest concentration of cancellations as the system approached.

Dangerous Windchill in the Northern Plains

Behind the main precipitation event, Arctic air would funnel into the northern tier of states. The National Weather Service projected windchills of 50 degrees below zero Fahrenheit — equivalent to minus 45.6 Celsius — for parts of northern Minnesota and North Dakota.

“When the weather forecast says, ‘feels like negative 34,’ it’s just a matter of covering skin and being prepared for it,” said Nils Anderson, who owns Duluth Gear Exchange, an outdoor equipment store in Duluth, Minnesota.

Widespread Preparedness Operations Underway

Cities and state transportation departments across the affected region mobilized equipment and personnel to confront the storm.

In Tennessee, Nashville had 45 snowplow trucks positioned and ready. The city had expanded its winter response capability last year by adding 600 miles to its snowplow routes, according to Alex Apple, a spokesperson for Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell. The expansion, he said, was designed “to get deeper into our neighborhoods — roads that had never been plowed before.”

The city’s fleet included a snowplow named Dolly Plowton, after country music legend Dolly Parton, a Tennessee native. An East Tennessee snowplow was named Snowlene, after Parton’s classic hit song “Jolene,” as part of a 2022 naming contest.

Memphis positioned 15 snow and ice removal trucks, with an additional six trucks equipped to spread brine — a salt mixture designed to melt wintry precipitation. Statewide, the Tennessee Department of Transportation had 851 salt trucks and 634 brine trucks on standby, with most of the salt trucks also functioning as plows.

Arkansas stockpiled supplies and equipment at scale. The state’s Department of Transportation reported having 78,000 cubic yards of salt on hand at 121 salt houses throughout the state, supplemented by 600 salt spreaders and 700 snowplows, according to agency spokesperson Dave Parker.

Chicago deployed 12 trucks that dispense beet juice to treat roads. According to Cole Stallard, the city’s commissioner of Streets and Sanitation, the natural sugars in beet juice lower water’s freezing point, allowing salt mixtures to work more effectively at lower temperatures, preventing refreezing and helping the salt adhere to roads longer.

Texas had more than 1,000 pieces of winter weather equipment ready, including snowplows, motor graders and brine tankers, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. In the Dallas area, agency officials said their immediate focus was on treating roadways in advance of the storm’s arrival.

Jackson, Mississippi, presented a different challenge. The city reported having no dedicated snowplows but said it would use heavy equipment like skid steers and small excavators to clear roads. Jackson had three trucks equipped to spread salt and sand before freezing weather arrived.

The region braced for what forecasters described as a potentially significant winter weather event that would test the capacity of municipal and state infrastructure across millions of square miles.