Meteorologist's dire warning as arctic bomb to blast up to 20 INCHES of snow across bulk of America:

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The less obvious ways to stay safe in a snowstorm: Cruise control, dripping faucets and the silent killer - Live updates

Daily Mail
By RACHEL BOWMAN
23 January 2026

More than 230 million Americans are bracing for winter storm Fern that forecasters fear will bring heavy snow and catastrophic ice conditions.

Grocery store shelves are beginning to empty across the nation as households panic buy in preparation for 'Snowmaggedon.'

Over a dozen states have issued disaster or emergency declarations ahead of the storm, which is predicted to spread from New Mexico to Virginia on Saturday.

By Sunday, it will move into the Northeast, bringing bitterly cold temperatures and hazardous travel conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

It comes just one week after a powerful Arctic storm wreaked havoc across New England, causing multiple major car pileups on icy roads.

More than 1,500 flights within, into or out of the United States have been delayed or canceled in advance of the storm today, according to FlightAware.

Follow along for the latest updates.

Snowmaggedon preppers leave stores barren
Panic buying has left store shelves completely empty in Washington DC as people prepare to spend the weekend buckled down inside their homes, NBC News' Gary Grumbach revealed.

Store shelves were left barren at a Trader Joe's in the nation's capital as locals brace for the wicked weather.

(more)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15489181/extreme-cold-warning-forecast-winter-storm-live-blog.html

Always drive cruise control in the snow, nice and slow. Makes for a pretty low stress event. Take the highway whenever possible.

[bigheadfred]

We've already got over a foot of snow and we're expecting a blizzard to hit any time with whiteout driving conditions.
So, I went nextdoor to check on the 89 year old lady who lives all alone. I asked her if she needed any last minute items from the store.
She said yes, so I gave her my list. No point in both of us going out in this mess.

[Kamaji]

We've already got over a foot of snow and we're expecting a blizzard to hit any time with whiteout driving conditions.
So, I went nextdoor to check on the 89 year old lady who lives all alone. I asked her if she needed any last minute items from the store.
She said yes, so I gave her my list. No point in both of us going out in this mess.

[Hoodat]

Here's the latest weather forecast.

Anywhere between 2" and 27" of rain or snow beginning tomorrow at 2 am, or 5 am, or 9 am, or sometime next Tuesday if at all.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygnOuNoBwek

[libertybele]

We've already got over a foot of snow and we're expecting a blizzard to hit any time with whiteout driving conditions.
So, I went nextdoor to check on the 89 year old lady who lives all alone. I asked her if she needed any last minute items from the store.
She said yes, so I gave her my list. No point in both of us going out in this mess.

 

[libertybele]

Here's the latest weather forecast.

Anywhere between 2" and 27" of rain or snow beginning tomorrow at 2 am, or 5 am, or 9 am, or sometime next Tuesday if at all.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygnOuNoBwek

  That's some pretty darn accurate weather reporting. 

[Sighlass]

More use of all the crayons in the box...



Just take no chances, color the whole East of the Rockies with one color or another.

[DCPatriot]

[Smokin Joe]

In Western Arizona I'm just popping corn and hoping for the best for all my Briefer buddies....

I feel for all y'all, this is why I pulled up stakes and moved from Michigan to out here as a yout.  It's nice outside here now, but we'll pay for it when it hits 120 F this summer!

Yeah, we have a significant local population who (can afford it and) commute between Arizona and North Dakota with the seasons.

[Smokin Joe]

We've already got over a foot of snow and we're expecting a blizzard to hit any time with whiteout driving conditions.
So, I went nextdoor to check on the 89 year old lady who lives all alone. I asked her if she needed any last minute items from the store.
She said yes, so I gave her my list. No point in both of us going out in this mess.

Okay, that made me laugh!

[Smokin Joe]

Always drive cruise control in the snow, nice and slow. Makes for a pretty low stress event. Take the highway whenever possible.

Let me say NO! Cruise control, most especially on a hill on ice, will shift gears (downshift) and spin you into the ditch. Lower gears give you more control over how fast your wheels are turning and the key to not losing traction or control is to keep the speed of your tire rotation as constant as possible.

[240B]

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

2 in Texas.

[verga]

Let me say NO! Cruise control, most especially on a hill on ice, will shift gears (downshift) and spin you into the ditch. Lower gears give you more control over how fast your wheels are turning and the key to not losing traction or control is to keep the speed of your tire rotation as constant as possible.

QFT

[mountaineer]

0 degrees here. I'm counting on the prediction that the snow isn't supposed to start until this evening, so I'm going out to a funeral home to pay respects to a family from our church. The week ahead will continue to be bitterly sub-freezing. 

[Elderberry]

There will be no survivors

POWERLINE on January 23, 2026 by Bill Glahn in Climate

There will be no survivors

From what I can discern from the latest weather forecasts, some two-thirds (66 percent) of America will be wiped off the maps by Monday morning. It reminds me of last fall’s hurricane hype, where not a single storm hit the continental U.S.

From the Weather Channel,

    Massive Winter Storm With Damaging Ice In South, Heavy Snow From Texas To Northeast To Affect Over 230 Million

Last I checked, the population of the U.S. was only around 350 million. Perhaps they are also counting some Canadians?

If this storm doesn’t get you, the next one surely will. I’m already hearing about snow in Florida next weekend.

More: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/01/there-will-be-no-survivors.php

[mystery-ak]

My area says 6-12in...about the same as my local weather forecast...8-12in

Interactive map: How much snow will fall in my area during the storm?

https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/5704052-winter-storm-travels-east/

[Polly Ticks]

My area says 6-12in...about the same as my local weather forecast...8-12in

Interactive map: How much snow will fall in my area during the storm?

https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/5704052-winter-storm-travels-east/

Mine says 12-18 inches. Matches what the local guys are saying - 12-14 inches in the Louisville Metro area.

[roamer_1]

Let me say NO! Cruise control, most especially on a hill on ice, will shift gears (downshift) and spin you into the ditch. Lower gears give you more control over how fast your wheels are turning and the key to not losing traction or control is to keep the speed of your tire rotation as constant as possible.

YUP. Turn off ABS too.

[Bigun]

YUP. Turn off ABS too.

Do that first!

[jmyrlefuller]

Checking in this morning. Is everybody OK so far?

[jmyrlefuller]

Also, it appears there is some good news: the 6:00 CT soundings are showing that in the core of the snowstorm, it's below freezing throughout the lower atmosphere, which means an all-snow event. The warmer above-surface layer that is needed is not quite warm enough to cause the melt-and-freeze cycle that leads to ice.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Let me say NO! Cruise control, most especially on a hill on ice, will shift gears (downshift) and spin you into the ditch. Lower gears give you more control over how fast your wheels are turning and the key to not losing traction or control is to keep the speed of your tire rotation as constant as possible.

That's why you lower the CC going down hills on ice.

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2014776579843309660

[Kamaji]

YUP. Turn off ABS too.

Opinions on that will differ:  https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/01/disabling-abs-drive-snow-extremely-bad-idea/

[roamer_1]

Opinions on that will differ:  https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/01/disabling-abs-drive-snow-extremely-bad-idea/

Totally don't care. ABS, like every computer driven system works on averaging. Like all-weather tires. But there is no 'best of both worlds. All- weather tires can't stand in the shade of siped and studded winter tires (when it comes to real driving in winter). Winter tires are about half of why northern drivers fare so much better than southern drivers.

ABS is the same thing. There are times you WANT a skid. There are times when you want to push stopping past what ABS will allow. Traction control is a joke too.

Every (and I mean every) mountain truck is a lifted 4wd, hopefully a stick (though they are getting terribly hard to find), Over-powered, with detroit lockers. Every one of em is on tall pizza-cutters this time of year, siped and studded.

Not a damn one of em has cruise, traction control, or abs enabled. There's a reason for that.

By the same token, you have to know how to actually drive. The car ain't gonna do it (poorly) for you.  That responsibility is on you.

[Kamaji]

Totally don't care. ABS, like every computer driven system works on averaging. Like all-weather tires. But there is no 'best of both worlds. All- weather tires can't stand in the shade of siped and studded winter tires (when it comes to real driving in winter). Winter tires are about half of why northern drivers fare so much better than southern drivers.

ABS is the same thing. There are times you WANT a skid. There are times when you want to push stopping past what ABS will allow. Traction control is a joke too.

Every (and I mean every) mountain truck is a lifted 4wd, hopefully a stick (though they are getting terribly hard to find), Over-powered, with detroit lockers. Every one of em is on tall pizza-cutters this time of year, siped and studded.

Not a damn one of em has cruise, traction control, or abs enabled. There's a reason for that.

By the same token, you have to know how to actually drive. The car ain't gonna do it (poorly) for you.  That responsibility is on you.

Yeah.  No.  ABS is much better at the sort of braking that people were taught to employ in the pre-ABS era.

[roamer_1]

Yeah.  No.  ABS is much better at the sort of braking that people were taught to employ in the pre-ABS era.

Sorry pal. Pumping the brakes is not the only play. Unless you have ABS. Then it is.

[Kamaji]

Sorry pal. Pumping the brakes is not the only play. Unless you have ABS. Then it is.

Sorry pal; I've driven everything from a 1876 Lincoln Continental MkIV - with no limited slip differential - to a 2025 Subaru Outback in snow and ice, up hills and down hills, without incident, and I can say from my experience that ABS creates no negative consequences, and in fact the Subaru Outback is substantially safer and more maneuverable and stoppable on ice than any non-ABS equipped vehicle.

You are, quite simply, wrong here.  Sorry to break it to you, but you are.

[roamer_1]

Sorry pal; I've driven everything from a 1876 Lincoln Continental MkIV - with no limited slip differential - to a 2025 Subaru Outback in snow and ice, up hills and down hills, without incident, and I can say from my experience that ABS creates no negative consequences, and in fact the Subaru Outback is substantially safer and more maneuverable and stoppable on ice than any non-ABS equipped vehicle.

You are, quite simply, wrong here.  Sorry to break it to you, but you are.

.

No, I am not. But then I know how to drive. Especially on mountain trails and two-tracks.

FWIW, I will agree with you on Soobies. They are a regular fixture at about any mountain cabin. As a second vehicle for Mamma to drive. And they are generally unmolested (No lift, ABS and traction control left on). But the Outback or the Forester is not what they are taking to town when the going is rough. That's for AFTER the road is plowed. BEFORE that, it'll be a big ol pickup, guaranteed.

[Kamaji]

.

No, I am not. But then I know how to drive. Especially on mountain trails and two-tracks.

FWIW, I will agree with you on Soobies. They are a regular fixture at about any mountain cabin. As a second vehicle for Mamma to drive. And they are generally unmolested (No lift, ABS and traction control left on). But the Outback or the Forester is not what they are taking to town when the going is rough. That's for AFTER the road is plowed. BEFORE that, it'll be a big ol pickup, guaranteed.

Yes you are.  I know how to drive as well.  I've driven 1970s lead sleds without even limited slip differentials up snowy/icy roads in the New River valley as well as 30', 35', and 40' buses.  I know how to drive in snow and ice.  And modern ABS-equipped vehicles almost always do a better job of it.

[roamer_1]

Yes you are.  I know how to drive as well.  I've driven 1970s lead sleds without even limited slip differentials up snowy/icy roads in the New River valley as well as 30', 35', and 40' buses.  I know how to drive in snow and ice.  And modern ABS-equipped vehicles almost always do a better job of it.

Not in the Rockies. Not in performance or extreme driving. Believe me, disabling ABS and traction control are standard fare around here.They'll get you dead.

[Kamaji]

Not in the Rockies. Not in performance or extreme driving. Believe me, disabling ABS and traction control are standard fare around here.They'll get you dead.

You're entitled to your opinion, however wrong it may be.

[roamer_1]

You're entitled to your opinion, however wrong it may be.

Sure. You believe what you want. But if you're around here, it'll be me puling you out of the ditch. It always has been, and it always will be. 

[Kamaji]

Sure. You believe what you want. But if you're around here, it'll be me puling you out of the ditch. It always has been, and it always will be. 

Not in your lifetime or mine.  And I've pulled one or two of those sooper-dooper 4x4 I-know-how-to-drive drivers out of the ditches in the NRV in my time.

[Hoodat]

0 " of snow here.  The weatherman is a LIAR.

[roamer_1]

Not in your lifetime or mine.  And I've pulled one or two of those sooper-dooper 4x4 I-know-how-to-drive drivers out of the ditches in the NRV in my time.

And I've pulled out hundreds of subies and yodas, and every other dang thing. All the time. Every winter. It was all I did after a big blow came through... plow snow and pull townies out of the ditch.

[corbe]

[Kamaji]

We'll be down after the snow clears up!

[DCPatriot]

YUP. Turn off ABS too.

Once had a '99 BMW M3.  New set of Michelin Pilots all around.  The rear were a larger tire than the front set.
One of the most incredible machines ever built by man.

In winter she became "Christine"

Soon as the pavement disappeared under snow,... had to park it.  It became a plastic snow saucer sled.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Totally don't care. ABS, like every computer driven system works on averaging. Like all-weather tires. But there is no 'best of both worlds. All- weather tires can't stand in the shade of siped and studded winter tires (when it comes to real driving in winter). Winter tires are about half of why northern drivers fare so much better than southern drivers.

ABS is the same thing. There are times you WANT a skid. There are times when you want to push stopping past what ABS will allow. Traction control is a joke too.

Every (and I mean every) mountain truck is a lifted 4wd, hopefully a stick (though they are getting terribly hard to find), Over-powered, with detroit lockers. Every one of em is on tall pizza-cutters this time of year, siped and studded.

Not a damn one of em has cruise, traction control, or abs enabled. There's a reason for that.

By the same token, you have to know how to actually drive. The car ain't gonna do it (poorly) for you.  That responsibility is on you.

Mountain driving is a whole 'nother animal. I was talking about your basic highway driving. Around here ABS and CC aren't an issue at all.

[roamer_1]

Mountain driving is a whole 'nother animal. I was talking about your basic highway driving. Around here ABS and CC aren't an issue at all.

If I were to take off to see @Smokin Joe over in the patch in NoDak this time of year, Ain't no way in hell I would try it in anything but the pickup. And my truck is old enough that all that stuff ain't on it anyhow. Well..lt might have CC - I never really looked. 

If I were to take my sister's Tahoe or something, ABS, and TC would be disabled before I left town. CC too (but I just wouldn't use it).

None for me, thx.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

If I were to take off to see @Smokin Joe over in the patch in NoDak this time of year, Ain't no way in hell I would try it in anything but the pickup. And my truck is old enough that all that stuff ain't on it anyhow. Well..lt might have CC - I never really looked. 

If I were to take my sister's Tahoe or something, ABS, and TC would be disabled before I left town. CC too (but I just wouldn't use it).

None for me, thx.

Usually TC can be like temporarily disabled by pressing the button. A lot of people don't realize that and just wonder why their engine revs and their wheels don't move. Always seems to me it was most useful for rear wheel drive cars as 4x4's and FWD vehicles don't spin out as badly.

[roamer_1]

Once had a '99 BMW M3.  New set of Michelin Pilots all around.  The rear were a larger tire than the front set.
One of the most incredible machines ever built by man.

In winter she became "Christine"

Soon as the pavement disappeared under snow,... had to park it.  It became a plastic snow saucer sled.

Well, y'all prolly wouldn't take it out in the salt anyhoo, but if you did, snow tires would make it a whole different creature. Around here we buy a spare set of wheels for the snows, so the tire shops will do the swap for you for free. But yeah... Studded and siped snow tires are a game changer. Wouldn't even try without em. Then shut off all the automation (ABS, Traction Control), and don't use cruise, and I bet it would be more to your liking and expectation.

[Right_in_Virginia]

 

[roamer_1]

Usually TC can be like temporarily disabled by pressing the button. A lot of people don't realize that and just wonder why their engine revs and their wheels don't move. Always seems to me it was most useful for rear wheel drive cars as 4x4's and FWD vehicles don't spin out as badly.

Yes, but that is generally a session override - Next time you start the car, you have to remember to disable it again. It can be permanently disabled with a scan tool, or sometimes, pulling a fuse or a relay. I think if you set it to trailer towing (on a pickup) it disables ABS - Ain't sure about that.

I will always prefer mechanical traction control - Corporate Limited Slip (the clutch style) is alright if you understand it, but Detroit Lockers are king. I set em up on two electric switches - Then you can choose whether to lock the front diff or the back, or both. If you turn on both lockers, it will turn square as hell, but true quadratrac is a marvel to behold.

[Hoodat]

The secret to driving on snow is to never use your brakes.  Once you brake, you lose control of your vehicle.

[verga]

https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2014776579843309660

That would make my Front wheel drive ungoable.

[mountaineer]

Checking in this morning. Is everybody OK so far?

No snow yet in the upper Ohio valley but it's supposed to start in 2-3 hours. Church services all over the region have been cancelled, and tomorrow is dedicated to shoveling the driveway every couple of hours.

[Smokin Joe]

Nah, it gets really ornery when it's been drinking.
Y'all will just have to wait for it to sober up.