By Wednesday, January 18th, areas in South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Georgia were covered in 8-12 inches of snow. The snowstorm caused highways and airports to close in Texas, broke records in Florida, and caused blizzard warnings all over Louisiana. Many traffic incidents happened in the storm, and with the addition of extremely cold conditions, at least nine people were reported deceased. 

The winter storm brought snow, ice, and sleet. By January 18th, 1,600 flights were canceled in the US, and 1,765 flights had to be delayed. In Florida, the record for the amount of snowfall was broken, as the eight inches of snow doubled their previous record of four inches in 1954. Over 108,000 customers did not have power along the Gulf Coast, especially in Georgia and Florida. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency due to the extreme conditions. Overall, around 40 million people in the South were affected by a weather hazard, and the National Weather Service announced that land and air travel would be disrupted for days after the storm ended. The temperatures would drop as low as -50C or -58F in certain areas. Even parts of Canada, including Quebec and Ontario, received extreme weather warnings.