Texas grinds to halt as historic winter storm brings snow and ice, with major cities closing ALL schools on Monday… as extreme conditions begin to grip Midwest – LIVE

Around 50,000 homes in Texas are without power amid Winter Storm Fern, according to PowerOutage.us.

The state is second behind Louisiana for the most outages in the country. There are over 53,000 homes without power in the Bayou State.

Fern has already begun ravaging Texas, with places of worship and schools announcing closures for Sunday and Monday.

The state is under Winter Storm and Extreme Cold Weather Warnings until at least Sunday.

Snow has already hit the Ohio Valley and is traveling East, with parts of the South and Northeast bracing for heavy snowfall and freezing rain tomorrow morning.

Little Rock, Arkansas, has already been hit with almost 8 inches of snow, while Beloit, Kansas, is buried under 7 inches, and Memphis, Tennessee, has seen 3.5 inches.

Temperatures across the US are 10 to 40 degrees below average, with wind chills in the Northern Plains set to plummet to -50 degrees overnight.

A viral TikTok video showed part of a hotel roof collapsing in Oklahoma on Saturday.

The incident occurred at the Embassy Suites in Norman, a city outside of Oklahoma City.

One patron at the hotel captured the moment the roof began to leak, before the ceiling completely collapsed in what appeared to be a dining area.

‘Dang that’s crazy you caught that on video!’ one comment read.

‘OMG was not expecting that,’ another added.

It’s unclear if the issue was due to the storm, but freezing rain can cause pipes to burst.

As is the case with any storm warning, shoppers raced to grocery stores to stock up on essentials and panic buy.

Watch the video below to see an empty Trader Joe’s ahead of the winter storm.

Photos below show Kansas City and St Louis completely covered in snow as Winter Storm Fern causes chaos across the US.

Electrical companies are continuing to provide service amid increasing power outages.

Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative shared on social media that crews were out working to restore power as quickly as possible.

Three people have been found dead outside as temperatures plunged in New York City.

The New York City Police Department confirmed to NBC 4 New York that a 67-year-old man was found dead on a sidewalk in Manhattan on Saturday morning.

Another individual was found dead in Manhattan, and a third was found in Brooklyn. Authorities believe the deaths were due to weather-related circumstances.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously issued a Code Blue on Thursday, which provides enhanced support to homeless individuals in need of shelter.

He said at a press conference on Saturday that no one would be denied shelter, and all hospitals and homeless drop-in centers would have a ‘fully open door policy’ during the storm.

Despite the winter weather warnings, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is carrying on as usual this weekend.

Matt Brockman, a spokesperson for the rodeo, told the New York Times that they don’t cancel events.

‘As somebody in the circus industry once said, the show must go on.’

Although Texas is a core state in the Bible Belt, Texans have been forced to take a day off from church because of the winter storm.

Fellowship Church recorded a Sunday service on Thursday so parishioners wouldn’t be forced to commute during the storm.

Pastor Ed Young Jr told the New York Times that although attendees can still listen to his sermon virtually, a day without in-person attendance may ‘hurt’ their first-quarter earnings.

‘The offerings, you lose a lot,’ he joked.

Hall Summit, Louisiana, has nearly an inch of ice accumulation since Winter Storm Fern descended on the town.

Other places, like Idabel, Oklahoma, and Timpson, Texas, got a half-inch, according to the Weather Channel.

More than 20 million Americans are under an ice storm warning.

The public transportation system in Austin was shut down at 4pm local time, ending all service on Saturday.

The system will be suspended through Sunday. Weather conditions will be monitored on Monday. It is unclear when the metro system will be reopened.

Texas is expected to undergo an ice storm, with temperatures sinking as low as -5F.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he expected record lows this weekend, warning that temperatures may be the coldest they’ve been in eight years.

He added that officials are expecting at least eight to nine inches of snow along with intense, prolonged frigid temperatures.

The mayor said on Saturday evening that sanitation already begun salting roadways to prepare for the storm.

Mamdani said over 2,000 sanitation workers will be working 12-hour shifts over the weekend and plows are set to go out once two inches of snow hit the ground.