Fears of global warming are real but that doesn’t mean that very large local geographies will not continue to experience extremely cold temperatures, as the current weather in the U.S. shows.  

It started with Chicago experiencing dangerous icy weather with "astonishing" temperatures, as wind chills plunged as low as -23°F (-30oC), posing significant risks to residents, according to  Newsweek. The effects of the cold weather were felt country and industry wide potentially affected multiple insurance classes. 

More than 13,000 flights were cancelled. However, there is more to come. More than 200 million people across the United States are now experiencing even colder weather bringing a mix of ice, snow and frigid conditions to a 2,000-mile expanse of the country, according to CBS news.  

CBS reported that seventeen states and Washington, D.C., were under a state of emergency, with 35 states affected by the storm.  Roadways and airports were impacted. CBS noted that some airports in the South do not have de-icing equipment for aircraft to take off safely, “possibly leading to widespread cancellations and delays.” 

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport; Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City; Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis International and Nashville International airports in Tennessee, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were all affected. 

Major sports and music events have been cancelled. These include: 

The weather, which has broken hundreds of cold temperature and snow records, is already a bigger economic loss than Hurricane Ian. This current storm is projected to be, in terms of economic losses, ten times larger than the March 1993 “storm of the century which caused overall damage of $5 billion, with insured loss of $2 billion, if you adjust for rates today. The storms are already expected to result in total damage and economic losses of between $105 billion and £115 billion said Accuweather. 

The preliminary loss estimates accounts for damage to: “homes and business, disruptions to commerce and supply chain logistics, tourism losses. Impacts to shipping operations at major hubs, financial losses from extended power outages, major travel delays, as well as damage to infrastructure”, said the weather forecaster. Moody’s Ratings said insured losses from the Winter storm Fern will be “in the billions of dollars.” 

U.S. Natural gas prices surged over 17%, climbing above $6 for the first since late 2022, which could impact the economy during a time when consumers are feeling the impacts of inflation, feeding concerns about the “cost of living” crisis. 

The cold weather has persisted for over a week with no signs of letting up because a front of displaced arctic air has slowly drifted south, firstly affecting the Great Lakes Chicago area until it reached more temperate regions across the Central Belt, and even sub-tropical regions of the U.S; Orlando, for example, on 1st February 2026 at 24oF (-4oC) recorded its coldest February day since 1936. Other areas broke records going back to the 1800’s, something one might not expect in a warming world.  

Insurers should be alert to these cold risks, even in a warmer climate.    

Russell will continue to monitor the storm and provide specialty risk intelligence alerts to its (re)insurance clients and corporate partners over the coming days and weeks as this potent cold snap looks set to continue in the badly affected North-East of the country.