Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders activates National Guard for massive winter storm
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A powerful winter storm is bearing down on the United States, as federal officials warn ice and snow pose a threat to millions of Americans.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. She said road crews pre-treated about 90 percent of the state’s highways before the storm arrived.
“We continue to encourage all Arkansans to stay off the roads and really take this storm seriously,” Sanders said Saturday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
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Motorists travel on Interstate 40 during a winter storm in Nashville, Tennessee, January 24, 2026. (Photo George Walker IV/AP)
“Mother Nature is not something you can control, and so we have to be very aware of our environment and what’s coming,” she later added.
A state of emergency has been declared so far in at least 18 states, including New York, Kentucky, Georgia and Texas. The 2,300-mile-long storm is expected to bring snow, freezing rain and sleet.
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More than 190 million people are under some form of winter weather alert, representing the most U.S. counties ever under a winter storm warning simultaneously, FOX Weather reported.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders attends a natural disaster preparedness event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, June 10, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“We certainly hope people can enjoy the fun parts of the snow, but we also ask people to be very careful when they go out and not take unnecessary risks,” Sanders added as the first signs of the storm began to hit his state.
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National Weather Service Director Ken Graham described the storm as reaching a “staggering distance” and told Americans to prepare for “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
He warned that ice would likely be one of the most dangerous aspects of the storm and said: “It’s a catastrophic situation for some areas.”
Ken Graham, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, speaks during a press conference on Hurricane Ian at FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC, September 28, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Overnight snow and ice caused power outages in parts of the country. Graham said that even with strong power grids, damage to local lines and falling trees could leave some neighborhoods without power for days.
He warned people to use their generators correctly, noting that “people lose their lives” when they are misused. Graham’s advice to Americans was to prepare now by stocking up on food, having safe secondary heat sources, and checking on elderly neighbors.
A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a road in Nashville, Tennessee, January 22, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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President Donald Trump said the federal government was prepared to respond to the storm, even though thousands of flights were canceled.
Along with an alert from the National Weather Service, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I have been informed of the record cold snap and historic winter storm that will hit much of the United States this weekend.
Mike Rawlins of FOX Weather contributed to this report.
