Powerful storm threatens U.S. East Coast including parts unaccustomed to heavy snow

A powerful storm brings heavy snow and dangerous conditions to the U.S. East Coast, impacting unaccustomed regions like the Southeast.

A powerful storm bore down on the East Coast on Saturday (January 31, 2026), with forecasters warning of howling winds, flooding and heavy snow, including in some Southeast coastal communities more accustomed to hurricanes than blizzards. Temperatures plummeted even as tens of thousands of homes and businesses remained without power.

In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — whose official seal is the sun, palm trees and a seagull — 15 cm of snow was expected. The city has no snow removal equipment, and authorities planned to “use what we can find,” Mayor Mark Kruea said.

Subfreezing weather was forecast into February, with heavy snow in the Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia over the weekend including up to a foot (30 cm) in parts of North Carolina. Snow was also said to be possible from Maryland to Maine.

Saturday (January 31) night and early Sunday (February 1), forecasters said, wind and snow could lead to blizzard conditions before the storm moves out to sea.

The frigid cold was expected to plunge as far south as Florida.

Temperatures neared the teens (minus 10° Celsius) in Nashville, Tennessee, and frustrations bubbled up for those who spent a week without power.