A fierce winter storm struck the U.S. in January 2025, dramatically lowering temperatures and dumping heavy snow across the Midwest.
Visual data from space and predictive models illustrated the storm’s breadth and intensity, signaling a challenging start to the year with ongoing travel disruptions and more severe weather expected soon.
In early January 2025, a powerful winter storm brought snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to the central and eastern United States. The cold air first swept into the north-central U.S. at the start of the month, gradually pushing south and east. By January 6, frigid conditions had engulfed much of the country.
A map created using data from the GEOS (Goddard Earth Observing System) model (above) highlights the extent of the cold snap on January 6. It shows air temperatures measured at about 6.5 feet (2 meters) above ground level. The darkest blue areas on the map indicate temperatures plunging as low as -22°F (-30°C), while white areas represent milder conditions around freezing (32°F or 0°C).
In Wichita, Kansas, the National Weather Service reported daytime highs in the mid-teens Fahrenheit on January 6. Farther north in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the temperature that day barely reached above the single digits. And in northern Texas and the Mid-Atlantic, temperatures were 5°F to 20°F below average, according to news reports.
The early January chill accompanied a potent storm system that dumped snow and ice on states from the Plains to the Mid-Atlantic. This image, acquired on January 6 by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows a band of fresh snow across several Midwest states, including Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. (Note that some of the white areas are clouds, which can be distinguished in a false-color version of the image.)
On January 5, Chapman, Kansas, north of Wichita, received 18 inches (46 centimeters) of snow—the largest amount measured in the state, according to local news reports. Kansas City International Airport recorded 11 inches (28 centimeters) that day. As the storm moved east, it continued to snarl traffic and led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
As people dug out from the most recent storm, forecasters watched another system that could bring more winter weather to the U.S. South and up to the East Coast by the end of the week.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using GEOS-5 data from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA GSFC and MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.
