Sweeping US Winter Storm Threatens Blackouts and Snarled Travel

A vast swath of the U.S.—sweeping east from the Southern Rockies to the Mid-Atlantic and New England—is on alert for winter-storm conditions that could last days, disrupting travel and threatening blackouts.

By Friday evening, a mix of freezing rain and snow is expected to arrive in Texas, raising the risk of widespread power outages from ice buildup and as electricity demand jumps to keep homes warm. Through the weekend, the storm will barrel toward the U.S. Northeast, leaving a glaze of ice and sleet in its wake.

At least 170 million people are in the areas likely to impacted, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist for the Weather Prediction Center.

“It’s going to create a lot of inconvenience and hazard,” he said.

Prices for electricity and natural gas — the No. 1 power-plant fuel also used for home heating — have already started to rally leading into the extreme conditions. There’s the potential for local disasters as heavy ice accumulations raise the chances of prolonged power outages that will cut some homes off from their source of heat.

Ice Could Affect States That Depend on Electricity for Heat | Ice accumulation forecast from Jan. 22 to Jan. 25

Heavy snow will likely fall across New York City early Sunday, with more than 14 inches (36 centimeters) possible across the metro area before the storm departs late Monday. Travel will be hazardous, with visibilities dropping below a quarter of a mile due to falling or blowing snow and slick roads, especially on bridges and overpasses.

In Texas, electricity prices for this weekend and Monday traded as high as about $1,000 a megawatt-hour for the off-peak hours, according to a trader. Costs are rising amid concerns over tight power supplies, especially during the early morning hours, which will see some of the sharpest cold.

The benchmark Mid-Atlantic power price on the expansive 13-state Eastern grid managed by PJM Interconnection LLC reached $450. PJM, which serves nearly a fifth of Americans, has taken steps that indicate the possibility of prices topping $1,000 amid rising fuel costs.

Prices for spot gas at the Waha hub in West Texas soared to $12 per million British thermal units for the weekend, from less than $1 earlier this week, trading Thursday showed.

Top photo: A customer walks past empty shelves at Walmart in Little Rock, Arkansas on Jan 23.