Winter weather: Freezing conditions put 31 million under cold alerts

Power outages are impacting customers in the central U.S. to the East Coast because of yesterday's winter storm, as well as in Southern California, where red flag warnings are in effect for powerful offshore winds.

Here are the latest numbers as of 11 a.m. ET., according to PowerOutage.Us.

Virginia: 58,963

West Virginia: 33,484

Kentucky: 32,669

​Indiana: 31,521

California: 25,933

Many school districts in the Washington, D.C., area, including D.C. Public Schools, are closed today. 

In Virginia: Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and Stafford County Public Schools are closed. 

In Maryland: Calvert County, Charles County, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County and St. Mary’s County Public Schools are closed.

See a full list of closures here.

Multiple people were killed during the first major winter storm of 2025 in snow shoveling and travel-related deaths. NBC News’ Gary Grumbach describes how the storm shut down airports in Washington, D.C., and Chicago so that snow could be cleared off runways.

Heavy snow inundated Delaware yesterday and while it was a nuisance for adults, for kids it was a much welcome snow day to spend sledding.

Plenty of families spent the day sledding at Wilmington’s Rockford Park as schools were closed because of the inclement weather.

“It's awesome!” Luke Nelson told NBC Philadelphia. When asked if he was cold, he shook his head and said, “Too much fun!”

When children were asked if they were upset to miss school, two little ones shook their heads and said "no" with a smile as they enjoyed the winter wonderland and extended winter break.

Dozens of Kansas City, Missouri, city employees volunteered to help clear their city as a blizzard blanketed the city in snow yesterday. 

Mario Vasquez, an assistant city manager and director of planning and development, decided to help out manning a snowplow truck. “It’s a chance for me to do my part,” he told NBC affiliate KSHB of Kansas City. 

“The snow is super fluffy, it’s not super slippery, and it’s not super slick, so you can actually plow it,” Vasquez said, explaining that he and other co-workers left their warm office buildings to brave the cold and offer a helping hand to plow drivers.

“It just leaves a lot of work for them [plow drivers] to do, and we want to lighten that load to some extent,” Vasquez said. “I’m sure people want to be home with their families. We just want to make that happen a little faster. We’re doing our part on that.”

The next winter storm to hit the country will affect Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas and is due to hit Thursday before traversing the country Saturday.

Winter storm watches are now up for parts of northern Texas, southern Oklahoma and much of Arkansas, including the major metro areas of Dallas and Little Rock.

Between 3 and 6 inches of snow is expected for this region.

An Arctic blast is impacting much of the country with bone chilling winds after a deadly winter storm blanketed multiple states in snow, created dangerous road conditions and led to mass flight cancellations yesterday.

A low pressure system over eastern Canada is pushing cold air south, creating unseasonably cold weather for the next few weeks.

In total, 250 people million people are at freezing or below temperatures this morning, with the only state not experiencing the chill being Hawaii, NBC’s Al Roker said on "TODAY."

This morning with wind chill, it feels like 7 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago, 11 F in New York City and 16 F in Atlanta. The cold weather will continue tomorrow with single-digit wind chills and more cold temperatures into next week, Roker said.

Another storm is coming with 11 million forecast to be impacted with winter storm watches in place in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. This storm is forecast to grow and travel east toward the mid-Atlantic, though it's not clear just how far northeast it’ll go.

Police in Maryland have responded to 750 calls related to the severe winter weather since 1 a.m. ET today, including more than 200 reported crashes and more than 230 unattended vehicles, Maryland State Police said on X.

Temperatures have dropped with 31 million people under winter weather advisories, even including Southern states from Arizona to Florida, NBC News meteorologist Michelle Grossman said on "Early TODAY" this morning.

Bismark, North Dakota, will reach an arctic 3 degrees Fahrenheit — minus 14 with the wind chill factor — while New York City will reach 21 degrees, which will feel like 8 degrees with wind chill.

Many areas, including Tampa, Florida, are 15 degrees below the average for the time of year.

The cold snap will continue for most into tomorrow.

A sprawling winter storm, which is blamed for the deaths of at least four people, dumped 2 feet or more of snow in some areas. The storm stretched from the Plains to the mid-Atlantic, leaving tens of thousands without power and causing thousands of flight cancellations and delays. Washington, D.C., received more than half a foot of snow, its highest total in years. NBC News’ Sam Brock reports.