A massive winter storm has swept across the United States, leaving over 160,000 residents without electricity and forcing thousands of flight cancellations.

Authorities are urging caution as snow, ice, and frigid temperatures continue to affect large swathes of the country.

As of Saturday night, more than 160,000 electricity customers were without power, primarily in Louisiana and Texas, according to PowerOutage.com. Utility crews are working around the clock to restore service as conditions worsen with ice accumulation and freezing rain.

Winter Storm Severity Index. No more important added content to add from what is in the post text.

The U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order allowing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generators at major facilities to limit blackouts.

Flight cancellations disrupt travel

The storm has disrupted air travel nationwide. Over 4,000 U.S. flights were canceled on Saturday, with more than 9,400 flights already canceled for Sunday, according to FlightAware.

Major airlines, including Delta, JetBlue, and United, warned travelers to monitor schedules closely. Delta has relocated staff to southern airports to manage de-icing and baggage operations, while JetBlue and United are proactively canceling flights in areas hardest hit by the storm.

Federal emergency declarations

President Donald Trump approved federal emergency declarations in 12 states, including South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Louisiana, calling the storms “historic.” Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem warned residents to take precautions and prepare for extremely cold temperatures. “It’s going to be very, very cold. Stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together,” she said.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued alerts for heavy snow, sleet, and ice across the Southeast and eastern states, warning of “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts.”

Dominion Energy, which operates the world’s largest cluster of data centers in Virginia, said the storm could become one of the largest winter events in its history. Electric grid operators are taking additional precautions to prevent rotating blackouts.

Authorities urged residents to avoid travel where possible and to stay informed as the storm continues into Sunday and early next week.