Trump administration prepares for monster winter storm
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration said it is coordinating with states and taking other steps to prepare for a monster winter storm expected to bring snow, ice and extreme cold from Texas to Maine.
President Donald Trump is getting briefed throughout the day on the storm and is in close contact with administration officials, a White House official said on Friday.
The White House said its Office of Intergovernmental Affairs has communicated directly with officials from a dozen states expected to be affected by the storm to ensure pre-storm preparedness. Those states are Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. The White House also held a call with grid operators.
“The Trump Administration is proactively supporting states in the path of Winter Storm Fern to ensure a rapid and well-coordinated response.” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in a statement to USA Today.
Snowfall totals above 12 inches are likely across the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and will cause travel disruptions, according to the National Weather Service. Dangerous ice accumulation, through freezing rain and sleet, is expected in several states.
How the Trump administration responds to the storm will be under the microscope after hundreds of thousands of federal employees across departments were fired in 2025 through downsizing efforts steered by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump, in his first public statement on the storm, seized on the grim forecast to counter scientists who have warned of climate change. “Record Cold Wave expected to hit 40 States. Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain – WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she spoke with governors and emergency managers from states in the storm’s path. She said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies are closely monitoring conditions and coordinating with state officials.
“Governors remain in the lead, and we stand ready to support,” Noem said in a post on X. “Every American in the path of this storm should take steps to prepare and protect themselves from the elements.”
FEMA said it has prepositioned supplies including meals, generators and shutter drivers to distribution centers in Camp Minden, Louisiana, Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Forth Worth, Texas, and Atlanta.
More than 20 FEMA staff members are dispersed at state emergency operations centers, three incident management assistance teams have been deployed and 28 urban search and rescue teams are on standby, according to the agency. FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center and regional response centers are activated.
Energy secretary calls for availability of backup generation
Trump, who returned to Washington on Thursday after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is expected to remain in Washington through the weekend rather than travel to his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, in a Thursday letter, asked the nation’s grid operators to be prepared to make backup generation resources at data centers and other facilities available in case of power outages.
“I expect the Reliability Coordinators and Balancing Authorities to work closely with the facilities within their service territories to deliberately prioritize the dispatch order of backup generation to achieve the greatest benefit to the bulk power system while balancing mission-essential functions,” Wright wrote.
For forecasting, the National Weather Service is collecting storm data from aircraft operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft are flying above both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, according to the White House.
“We’re throwing everything at this because we’ve got to get that data into the models,” NWS Director Ken Graham told Axios.
The Department of Agriculture directed farmers, ranchers, families and small businesses in the path of the storm to available support through the USDA’s disaster resource center and disaster assistance discovery tool.
The Small Business Administration said it has put damage assessment and field deployment teams on “travel alert status” in preparation of quick deployment to affected states. The agency’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience has also communicated with state and federal officials to discuss which areas could be most affected, according to the White House.
The Federal Highway Administration, which falls under the Department of Transportation, said it stands ready to coordinate with states on road closures, salt needs and other resources during the storm.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which oversees commercial trucking, issued a regional emergency declaration to provide temporary hours-of-service and relief efforts for 40 states impacted by the storm.