Severe winter weather, dangerous temps threaten much of US

(NewsNation) — Dangerous temperatures and severe winter weather threaten much of the U.S. Friday. State officials are warning Americans to prepare for days-long heavy snowfall and freezing conditions.

The winter storm is expected to dump as much as a foot of snow in some parts of the Midwest. Several winter weather warnings and advisories have also been issued for surrounding states. Hundreds of schools have also closed Friday due to the storm.

At least one death was suspected from the latest round of dangerous weather — a man was believed dead after an avalanche in the Idaho backcountry. Heavy snow and strong winds made driving virtually impossible in parts of Iowa, so much so that Republican presidential hopefuls called off campaign events. “Black ice” from freezing rain brought Kansas City, Missouri, to a standstill.

In Chicago, authorities warned people to stay safe and check on elderly and vulnerable residents during the storm. Mayor Brandon Johnson also announced the city would be temporarily suspending a 60-day limit for those staying at shelters due to the weather.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport issued a ground stop early Friday morning as severe winter weather continued to dump snow on the city. It has since been updated to a ground delay, but hundreds of flights have already been canceled due to the storm. The airport remains under a ground delay.

More than 1,000 flights were canceled at the city’s two main airports Friday, according to FlyChicago.

A ground delay has also been issued at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport due to strong winds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. So far, FlightAware has reported there have been nearly 200 delays out of DFW.

The storm has also caused thousands of residents in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee to lose power, according to Poweroutage.us.

Parts of Texas and the interior Southeast are anticipated to experience wind chills below zero early next week. Over the weekend, wind chills in the Rockies and northern Plains will be below negative 40 degrees.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a press conference Friday morning to address upcoming cold fronts across the state. Abbott announced that the state will open multiple warming centers for Texans to shelter in if needed. He also ensured that the state would do everything in its power to keep from losing power.

He warned Texans to be prepared for a multi-day period of freezing temperatures that could lead into Wednesday. Abbott also warned about freezing water on trees and power lines, weighing those objects down and causing potential dangers.

“If you do not need to go on the road, do not go on the road,” Abbott said. “Everyone knows that if you are driving on icy roads, it’s difficult to see that you are driving on the roads. Be very, very cautious as precipitation could turn into black ice.”

The National Weather Service strongly encouraged postponing any travel through the impacted region.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s road conditions map on Friday showed that virtually every major highway and interstate was partially or completely covered. The agency said driver visibility was “near zero” in some places, and wind-fueled drifts were quickly erasing the work of plow drivers.

The Iowa State Patrol posted photos of an icy wreck. “Please, don’t put yourself or others in danger,” the agency wrote. “The road conditions are extremely dangerous!”

The storms are also expected to bring heavy rain, coastal flooding and strong winds to the Southeast. Dangerously cold arctic air will also move through the nation’s heartland. The bitter cold temperatures are expected to worsen over the weekend, the NWS reported.

“This will pose an increased risk of frostbite on exposed skin and hypothermia,” the NWS said in an advisory, adding that if people must travel, they should do so with a cold survival kit.

The Northeast had flooding concerns. Emergency responders helped evacuate some residents from their homes in Paterson, New Jersey, early Friday as the Passaic River started overflowing its banks. The new storm, combined with one earlier in the week, created flooding worries in Maine and New Hampshire, too.

As the storm system moves east, it will bring snow to the interior south through the Mid-Atlantic areas Sunday into Monday, and it has the potential to bring some to the Northeast Tuesday and Wednesday, the NWS predicted.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called up the National Guard and declared a state of emergency ahead of the anticipated storm to the western part of the state.

Blizzard conditions with 6-to-12-inch snowfall totals hover over the Midwest, and the Southern U.S. is bracing for potential tornadoes, The Hill previously reported.

The Southwest Power Pool, which oversees electric reliability in 14 states, has declared multiple advisories for energy operators ahead of the storm, which may bring a “higher than normal risk of outages.”

NewsNation affiliate WGN,The Hill and the Associated Press contributed to this report.