Coast to Coast, a Brutal Mix of Snow, Rain and Bitter Cold

Residents in Billings, Mont., woke up to a temperature of minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. In Des Moines, homeowners were digging out snow from a blizzard and facing wind gusts of 45 miles per hour. Towns and cities along the East Coast were bracing for possible flooding from yet more rain. And communities near the Gulf Coast are preparing for a deep freeze.

More than 30 million Americans were under winter weather advisories on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, from rain to high winds to heavy snow, and a large portion of the United States is expected to face the coldest conditions of winter so far.

Here is a look at some of what’s going on, region by region.

Midwest

As of Saturday morning, blizzard warnings were in effect for most of Iowa, as well as for North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

In Iowa, many rural highways were impassable, and there were several road closures in the eastern part of the state, officials said. On Friday, the Iowa State Patrol said that it had responded to 436 motorist assist calls and 72 crashes, though none were fatal.

Parts of Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota were under winter storm warnings, with snow expected in many areas. In the Great Lakes region on Saturday morning, more than 300,000 households were without power, according to PowerOutage.us. And bitter wind chills were expected in Illinois and Missouri.

In Kansas City, where the defending Super Bowl champion, the Chiefs, will host the Miami Dolphins in a wild-card playoff game on Saturday night, temperatures will be “well below zero” at kickoff, forecasters said.

Northeast

Parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have experienced nearly two inches of rainfall since Friday, according to the Weather Service, and more rain is expected on Saturday in some areas. Central Suffolk County on Long Island recorded 1.82 inches of rain, Newark recorded 0.91 inches and Central Park, in Manhattan, received 0.89 inches.

After the storm, hundreds of people were without power on Long Island, while thousands of outages were reported in parts of New Jersey.

The rainfall on Friday — which lasted overnight — caused flooding in parts of New Jersey and led to evacuations of residents living near the Passaic River in Paterson and Little Falls.

Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Friday that with the weekend’s heavy rain, the river was expected to rise another one to two feet by Sunday afternoon.

Thousands of people in New England were also without power on Saturday as a third major storm this week passed through the area. Most of the outages were in Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, where high wind gusts of 30 m.p.h. or more had been predicted overnight.

Already saturated with heavy precipitation from snow and rain, the area was also expected to experience flooding. Coastal flood advisories and warnings were issued from Connecticut to Maine. Several rivers in Rhode Island, which already flooded this week, were expected to experience more moderate flooding again because of Saturday’s storm.

In Erie County, N.Y., which includes Buffalo, heavy snow and “very strong winds” were expected, Weather Service forecasters said, adding that the snow totals could reach up to two feet and that blizzard conditions were possible on Saturday night and Sunday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Saturday that the playoff game in Buffalo between the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, which had been scheduled for Sunday afternoon, will be postponed to 4:30 p.m. on Monday due to the “dangerous conditions.”

West

Parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Northern California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Alaska were under winter storm warnings on Saturday morning, with snow expected in some areas.

The cold air moving through the United States is leading to plummeting temperatures in Montana, and readings of minus 40 or minus 50 were possible on Saturday. The cold air will be on the move and is expected to affect the Central Plains by Sunday. Flood advisories also remained in effect in areas of Montana on Saturday.

Another issue is ice. As another winter storm wallops the West, the mountains will receive much-needed snow, but states including Oregon will also see significant freezing rain on Saturday.

South

A winter storm watch is in effect for many counties in Tennessee from Sunday to Tuesday morning, with temperatures expected to plummet on Saturday night. Snow is expected on Sunday evening through Tuesday, the Weather Service said.

In Texas, officials are bracing for temperatures well below freezing starting on Saturday night. As the cold air moves south through the remainder of the Martin Luther King’s Birthday weekend, freezing temperatures will plunge near the Gulf Coast. Along this leading edge will be a chance for a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow in eastern Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana from Sunday to Monday.

In Oklahoma, the Weather Service said that “dangerously cold wind chills” — as low as minus 25 degrees — were to be expected at times, especially at night and in the morning. Officials are urging residents to avoid outdoor activities.

The governors of Louisiana and Arkansas declared states of emergency ahead of worsening conditions expected this weekend. “This will be dangerous cold, so the time to prepare is now!” the Weather Service in Little Rock warned.

Ann Hinga Klein, Colleen Cronin, Lauryn Higgins and Joel Wolfram contributed reporting.