Severe cold, freezing rain, and heavy snowfall have disrupted daily life across large parts of the United States.

Local authorities have declared a state of emergency in at least 17 states and Washington, D.C., as extreme winter conditions continue to worsen. Air travel has been heavily affected, with thousands of flights canceled nationwide.

According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, a total of 11,835 flights scheduled to operate within the U.S., depart from the country, or arrive there were canceled over the weekend.

By Saturday afternoon alone, more than 3,700 flights had been canceled and over 2,100 experienced delays. On Sunday, nearly 8,100 additional cancellations were expected, along with hundreds of delays.

Around 190 million people across 37 states are currently under winter weather alerts. Warnings stretch from the Rocky Mountains to New England, covering a vast portion of the country.

Ice and sleet have been reported from New Mexico through the Tennessee Valley, while heavy snowfall is impacting the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The U.S. National Weather Service has warned that a dangerous cold wave is spreading across much of the central and eastern United States. Wind chill temperatures in some areas could drop to between minus 20 and minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, with overall temperatures running 10 to 40 degrees below normal.

Power outages have already affected more than 132,000 homes nationwide, adding to the hardship caused by the intense cold.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani cautioned residents that weekend temperatures could be the lowest the city has seen in the past eight years. He said snowfall was expected to begin late Saturday night, with the heaviest accumulation likely from Sunday morning through midday.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that emergency declarations are in effect across at least 17 states and the District of Columbia due to snow, ice, and freezing rain.

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he has approved federal emergency declarations for 12 states, including Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia. He also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is fully prepared to respond.

Forecasters say conditions may gradually improve as the new week begins, though parts of New England and the Great Lakes region could continue to face severe cold and snowfall for some time.