From Clowns to Cold: World Faces New Realities

Winter Storm Brings Bitter Cold, Potential 'Bomb Cyclone' to Southeast

A powerful winter storm swept across the southern United States, bringing record-breaking cold and the threat of a "bomb cyclone" to the region on February 1, 2026. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in southern Florida plummeted into the 20s, marking the coldest temperatures since 1989. The agency issued warnings of freezing temperatures and "bitterly cold air" surging down the Florida Peninsula.

The storm had already begun to drop snow on parts of eastern Tennessee, the Carolinas, and southern Virginia by Friday, Time reported. Tampa, Florida, faced the possibility of snow flurries for the first time since 2010. About 240 million people were under cold weather advisories Saturday, and nearly 200,000 customers were without power, some from the previous week's storm, mostly in Tennessee and Mississippi.

Forecasters warned that the storm could develop into a "bomb cyclone," a weather event characterized by a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure over a short period, according to Time. This intense low-pressure system along the East Coast was driving extremely cold air deep into the Southeast, NPR reported.

The extreme weather occurred amidst other global events, including a period of uneasy normalcy in Caracas, Venezuela, following the seizure of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces a month prior, according to NPR. The world continued to grapple with human rights concerns, with Time noting that the rules-based order that helped make human rights enforceable was fraying under pressure.