FEMA preparations for ‘massive winter storm’ set to impact more than 30 states revealed in memo

FEMA

FEMA preparations for ‘massive winter storm’ set to impact more than 30 states revealed in memo

Federal agency prepositioning 250,000 meals and 28 rescue teams as storm threatens to span 2,300 miles from Arizona to Maine

Greg Norman-Diamond

Preston Mizell Fox News

Published

January 23, 2026 2:49pm EST

Video

States prepare for massive winter storm

FOX Weather meteorologist Bayne Froney joins 'America's Newsroom' in Dallas, Texas as the first signs of a massive winter storm begin to show. Texas is preparing accordingly following the devastating winter storm five years ago.

FIRST ON FOX: A memo obtained by Fox News Digital revealed the preparations the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is taking Friday as a "massive winter storm" is set to impact over 240 million people across more than 30 states.

The FEMA memo said 250,000 meals, 400,000 liters of water and 30 generators have already been prepositioned at Camp Minden in Louisiana, as well as dozens of shuttle drivers to "rapidly move commodities as needed" from facilities in Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia.

In addition, 28 urban search and rescue teams are on standby, "ready to deploy and support lifesaving operations at the request of governors," according to the memo.

"The secretary is fully engaged at FEMA in a way we haven’t seen from DHS secretaries under previous administrations. It’s clear she cares deeply for the Americans who will be impacted by this storm and is leaning in to make sure they get the resources they need," a FEMA source told Fox News Digital.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in front of information board at FEMA facility

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, left, listens to Matt Payne, Director of Response at FEMA, as the agency is making preparations for a winter storm. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

"She personally gave her phone number to dozens of governors on a call yesterday and so did the acting FEMA administrator. It’s like someone took a chainsaw to the red tape and bureaucracy. We’re focused, mission ready, deploying resources, and supporting state and local response to this storm," the source added.

Map of winter weather advisories and warnings

Winter weather warnings and advisories that are currently in effect on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (FOX Weather)

The FEMA memo states, "On Friday, January 23, 2026, a massive winter storm will begin its path across the midsection of the United States, impacting more than 30 states."

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"Conditions will range from heavy snow and crippling ice in the South to life-threatening cold in the North. A large, long-duration winter storm is expected to bring widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies/Plains into the Mid-South beginning Friday, spreading eastward to the Mid-Atlantic and New England this weekend," the memo added. "An Arctic front will bring frigid temperatures and gusty winds that will lead to dangerous wind chills from the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest."

Snow in Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. New York City is gearing up for its first major winter storm of 2026. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

More than 240 million people from Arizona to Maine are in the path of the potentially historic storm, which is expected to extend over 2,300 miles, according to FOX Weather.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem listens at FEMA facility

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is seen as FEMA is making preparations for a winter storm set to impact much of the U.S. this weekend. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

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Ahead of the storm, thousands of flights have already been canceled around the U.S., with states of emergency already being declared in Arkansas, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, New York, and Kansas, along with Washington D.C., FOX Weather reported.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

FEMA preparations for ‘massive winter storm’ set to impact more than 30 states revealed in memo