Winter Storm Fern knocked out power to more than 500,000 customers across multiple states Sunday morning, while airlines canceled over 9,600 flights as the system advanced eastward through the country's midsection. PowerOutage.us reported Mississippi, Texas, and Tennessee each recorded outages exceeding 100,000 customers as freezing rain coated power lines and heavy snow accumulated across the storm's path.
The disruption follows 4,000 flight cancellations Saturday and represents one of the largest single-day aviation disruptions this winter, according to FlightAware data. Major hubs along the Interstate 95 corridor—including Newark, LaGuardia, JFK, Philadelphia, and Reagan National—experienced the heaviest cancellation rates as airlines pre-emptively grounded operations ahead of forecast snowfall ranging from 8 to 12 inches across the Northeast megalopolis.
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The National Weather Service issued warnings Sunday morning for "crippling to locally catastrophic impacts" across Georgia and the Carolinas, where ice accumulation up to one inch threatened extended power outages and dangerous travel conditions. The storm system dumped snow and ice across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas overnight before advancing into the Southeast, where freezing rain posed the greatest immediate infrastructure threat.
At least 21 states declared states of emergency by Sunday morning, while President Trump approved federal emergency declarations for 12 states. The Department of Energy issued emergency orders to grid operators ERCOT in Texas and PJM Interconnection serving the mid-Atlantic region to maintain system stability as demand surged and generation capacity faced weather-related constraints. Coastal areas from Virginia through New England braced for 6 to 12 inches of snow, with interior regions forecast to receive over one foot through Monday morning.
Members are reading: Why the timing and geography of this storm create compounding infrastructure recovery challenges through mid-week
Outlook
Winter Storm Fern's exceptionally wide geographic footprint—stretching from Texas to Maine—has created simultaneous pressure on power grids, aviation systems, and emergency response capacity across the eastern two-thirds of the country. The storm's continuation through Monday, combined with forecast ice accumulation in the South exceeding typical infrastructure tolerances, positions the event as one of the winter's most disruptive weather systems. Officials across affected states urged residents to shelter in place through Monday as conditions deteriorate.
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