January 2026 winter storm

[ZLoth]

Cold Weather Advisory
Issued: 11:49 PM Jan. 29, 2026 – National Weather Service
...COLD WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT TO 11 AM CST SATURDAY...

* WHAT...Very cold wind chills as low as zero expected.
* WHERE...North Texas.
* WHEN...From midnight Friday Night to 11 AM CST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Very cold wind chill values as low as zero can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Dress in layers including a hat, face mask, and gloves if you must go outside.

[NWI_Irish96]

* WHAT...Very cold wind chills as low as zero expected.

We have a name for that here: January

[kphoger]

Here in Wichita, the neighborhood streets—which do not get plowed—have halfway melted now, with a fairly large amount of pavement visible.  Today is supposed to be cloudy and still below freezing, so the snow should remain through the upcoming cold snap.  Residential lawns and the large field in front of my office are still completely blanketed in white, which is nice.  Starting Sunday, though, the highs are forecast to be in the 40s and 50s.

[GaryV]

WHAT...Very cold wind chills as low as zero expected.

It was zero without wind chill when I woke up this morning.

[kphoger]

It was zero without wind chill when I woke up this morning.

That's the forecast for tonight here.

Due to a funny quirk of the Weather Underground website, the forecast overview this morning rendered it as –°F instead of 0°F.

[1995hoo]

Our neighborhood plow was out on our street yesterday together with a Bobcat-type thing. The plow truck was loaded down with rocks in the back to try to give it more traction (presumably rear-wheel drive). Together, they somehow scraped it down to bare pavement essentially from curb to curb. It makes me glad I didn't bother to try to clear the mound the plow on Monday had left in front of my driveway because yesterday's work resulted in about 80% of that mound being removed. Low temperatures overnight tonight are supposed to be around 9° (windchills lower), but I plan to go outside tomorrow morning to try to clear out the rest of what's left. Our driveway is on the east side of the house, so doing it in the morning when the sun is on that side is somewhat better than trying it when it's in the afternoon shade.

The NHL must be happy about the current weather. There's an outdoor game in Tampa this Sunday. Forecast there for the day: High of 55°, low of 35°, windchill during the evening (when the game is scheduled) in the 20s.

Meanwhile, Fort Myers is under a freeze warning and the Miami area is supposed to have windchills in the teens overnight Saturday into Sunday, with the feels-like temperature never reaching 50°.

[wxfree]

It was zero without wind chill when I woke up this morning.

That's the forecast for tonight here.

Due to a funny quirk of the Weather Underground website, the forecast overview this morning rendered it as –°F instead of 0°F.

I seem to remember the National Weather Service website reporting zero degrees as -0°F.  I haven't noticed it in a long time.  Checking just now, they still do it.  If you look here relatively soon, it has a negative zero reported as the six-hour low temperature at noon in Mankato, MN today.  I don't know why they do it that way.

https://forecast.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KMKT.html

[kphoger]

Due to a funny quirk of the Weather Underground website, the forecast overview this morning rendered it as –°F instead of 0°F.

I seem to remember the National Weather Service website reporting zero degrees as -0°F.  I haven't noticed it in a long time.  Checking just now, they still do it.  If you look here relatively soon, it has a negative zero reported as the six-hour low temperature at noon in Mankato, MN today.  I don't know why they do it that way.

https://forecast.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KMKT.html

Indeed.  And yet I see wind chills with non-negative 0.

[kalvado]

Due to a funny quirk of the Weather Underground website, the forecast overview this morning rendered it as –°F instead of 0°F.

I seem to remember the National Weather Service website reporting zero degrees as -0°F.  I haven't noticed it in a long time.  Checking just now, they still do it.  If you look here relatively soon, it has a negative zero reported as the six-hour low temperature at noon in Mankato, MN today.  I don't know why they do it that way.

https://forecast.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KMKT.html

Indeed.  And yet I see wind chills with non-negative 0.

Maybe they are running internally in C, and those are just artifacts of conversion with rounding. -18C ~ -0.4F ~ -0F

[ZLoth]

* WHAT...Very cold wind chills as low as zero expected.

We have a name for that here: January

Indiana and Michigan is not North Texas. What may be normal and expected in your areas is not true for other areas.

[webny99]

Well, Fern sure pushed all the right buttons on the lake-effect snow machine. It's been absolutely relentless all week, with measurable snow on five of the past six days (six of seven counting the day of the storm).

There was about 3-4 inches already on the ground before the storm, an area-wide 8 to 10 inches during the storm, snow showers totaling up to a few more inches Monday, another coating on Tuesday, heavy snow showers most of the day on Thursday, and a coating to 6+ inches last night, with higher totals along the lake and to the northeast. There's over a foot on the ground in Penfield and closer to two feet in Webster/Ontario. And yet, amidst heavy snow showers this morning:

• "No active snow events" according to accuweather.com
• Current snow depth "3.9 to 9.8 inches" for the majority of the Rochester area according to usda.gov

Bulldust on both counts. There's a foot-plus area-wide and well over that in the lakeshore towns. This has gone beyond laughable to truly absurd.

[1995hoo]

"Fern"? Winter storms don't have names.


There are reports that Tampa and Fort Myers may get "gulf-effect" snow over the next day or two. While it's obvious what the term means, it's one I've never heard before.

[oscar]

"Fern"? Winter storms don't have names.

They shouldn't, but the Weather Channel insists on inflicting them on us.

[webny99]

"Fern"? Winter storms don't have names.

They shouldn't, but the Weather Channel insists on inflicting them on us.

Arguably worth it just so I could write that sentence... 

[1995hoo]

"Fern"? Winter storms don't have names.

They shouldn't, but the Weather Channel insists on inflicting them on us.

Those of you who watch the Weather Channel, maybe. What I find peculiar—and I'm not saying this to pick on webny99—is how some people insist on using those names as though everyone does watch that channel. Amtrak, for example, insists on using it in their service alerts. Dumb. I've never heard any media outlet use those silly little names.

[74/171FAN]

FWIW, PennDOT used Jonas in 2016, and I only remembered that name because of the Jonas Brothers.

[gonealookin]

"Fern"? Winter storms don't have names.

They shouldn't, but the Weather Channel insists on inflicting them on us.

Those of you who watch the Weather Channel, maybe. What I find peculiar—and I'm not saying this to pick on webny99—is how some people insist on using those names as though everyone does watch that channel. Amtrak, for example, insists on using it in their service alerts. Dumb. I've never heard any media outlet use those silly little names.

I noticed this week that USAA (insurance/banking) had a notice on their web site to the effect "If you are among our members who has been impacted by Winter Storm Fern...".    It's been replaced today by "USAA is prepared to take care of eligible members affected by potential federal pay disruptions with a 0% interest loan and additional relief offers. Applying for the loan will not affect your credit score."

[tdindy88]

What the hell kind of name is Fern anyway? Isn't that a plant? Who names a storm after a plant?

[GaryV]

What the hell kind of name is Fern anyway? Isn't that a plant?

You never read Charlotte's Web?

[vdeane]

"Fern"? Winter storms don't have names.

They shouldn't, but the Weather Channel insists on inflicting them on us.

Those of you who watch the Weather Channel, maybe. What I find peculiar—and I'm not saying this to pick on webny99—is how some people insist on using those names as though everyone does watch that channel. Amtrak, for example, insists on using it in their service alerts. Dumb. I've never heard any media outlet use those silly little names.

Agreed.  I don't understand why it seems like some organizations insist on going along with it.  All NYS government offices/agencies do, so it easily feels like everybody and their dog is trying to shove the Weather Channel names down our throat whenever they can.  They even invented a name (winter storm Knife) for a lake effect snow event the Weather Channel didn't bother to name!

[tdindy88]

What the hell kind of name is Fern anyway? Isn't that a plant?

You never read Charlotte's Web?

A long time ago. I forgot the kid's name was Fern.

[hotdogPi]

Do you think it would be feasible to number storms based on the day they touch (or would touch) the Pacific coast? (The number would not reset each month; it goes 1-365 or 1-366.)

For example, a storm in Massachusetts today would be numbered 25, as it's January 31 and it typically takes six days for weather to cross the country; it would have the number 25 even if it started in Chicago on January 29.

[Max Rockatansky]

Winter storms don't need names or numbers.

[webny99]

the Weather Channel insists on inflicting them on us.

Those of you who watch the Weather Channel, maybe. What I find peculiar—and I'm not saying this to pick on webny99—is how some people insist on using those names as though everyone does watch that channel.

I'm sure this was obvious, but I didn't use it because I insist on doing so. I just thought it made a creative and humorous intro to my point. And it clearly worked as an attention grabber... just not in the way I expected. 

[akt85]

Tampa and Orlando might see flurries tonight with this current winter weather system.