Fox News correspondent Sarah Alegre joins “Fox & Friends Weekend” from Nashville, Tennessee, to discuss widespread power outages across the United States as ice accumulated from a winter storm destroys power lines.
More than a million The Americans were without power Sunday afternoon as a historic winter storm battered large parts of the United States
As of 2:35 p.m. ET, Tennessee was the hardest-hit state, with approximately 306,700 customers experiencing outages. Mississippi followed with about 175,300 outages, while Louisiana reported about 145,100, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
Major outages were also reported in Texas, where about 93,000 people lost power, as well as in Georgia with 80,700, Kentucky with 69,500, West Virginia with 35,500 and Alabama with 31,800.
Massive winter storm strains U.S. power grid as operators scramble to avoid blackouts
Workers clear snow from the sidewalk during snowfall around Times Square as a major winter storm spreads across much of the United States, in New York, January 25, 2026. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters / Reuters)
Outage figures increased throughout the day.
Earlier Sunday morning, as of 10:47 a.m. ET, about 850,000 Americans were without power, according to Reuters, citing PowerOutage.us.
At that time, at least 290,000 customers in Tennessee and more than 100,000 each in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana were affected. Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama also reported widespread outages.
The massive winter storm has strained the U.S. power grid, sending operators scrambling to avoid wider outages.
The storm also seriously disrupted plane travel. More than 10,000 U.S. flights were canceled on Sunday, according to FlightAware, following more than 4,000 cancellations on Saturday.
STORE SHELVES ARE CLEANED AS AMERICANS PREPARE FOR MASSIVE WINTER STORM
A man pushes his car amid falling snow as Winter Storm Fern leaves drivers stranded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, January 25, 2026, in this screenshot from a video. (Eric Cox/Reuters / Reuters)
Spanning about 2,000 miles, the storm is expected to peak Sunday, with heavy snow expected to continue from the Ohio Valley to the northeast through Monday, the National Weather Service said.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued emergency orders to prevent power outages, according to Reuters.
On Saturday, the agency authorized Texas grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to use backup generators at major facilities, including data centers.
On Sunday, it authorized PJM Interconnection to operate certain power resources in the Mid-Atlantic region, regardless of state and environmental restrictions, Reuters reported.
US AIRLINES ISSUE TRAVEL WAIVERS, ANNOUNCE CANCELLATIONS AHEAD OF GENERATED WINTER STORM
Children go sledding near the U.S. Capitol building as a major winter storm spreads across much of the United States, in Washington, DC, January 25, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters / Reuters)
President Trump on Saturday approved federal disaster emergency declarations for South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“We are working closely with FEMA, governors and state emergency management teams to keep everyone safe,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social article. “Stay safe and stay warm!”
