A sudden lake effect snow storm resulted in a stretch of dozens of wrecked vehicles along the side of the highway near Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the same arctic weather pattern has brought unusually frigid weather to as far south as Florida. Â
Several people were injured on Monday after more than 100 vehicles, including as many as 40 tractor-trailers, piled up in western Michigan due to intense snowfall wreaking havoc on the roads across the Great Lakes, local officials said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said.
“It was absolute chaos,” said Stephanie Biesboer, who was caught in the pileup. “Everyone was everywhere. People out of their cars. People rushing around trying to get the ambulances through.”
This image taken from video provided by WZZM shows part of a severe multi-car pileup leading Michigan State Police to shut down an interstate south of Grand Rapids Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Ottawa County, Michigan.
WZZM via AP
The I-196 in Zeeland Township was expected to be closed for several hours for the removal and clean up of vehicles, CBS Detroit reported.Â
The crash is the latest impact of the major winter storm moving across the country. Some areas along the Great Lakes saw at least 9 inches of snow, according to CBS News meteorologist Rob Marciano. Forecasters warned Monday that freezing temperatures are possible overnight into Tuesday across much of north-central Florida and southeast Georgia.
Snow and cold alerts through Wednesday.
CBS News
The National Weather Service has issued warnings about either extremely cold temperatures or the potential for winter storms across several states starting in northern Minnesota and stretching south and east into Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, The Associated Press reported.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned those in western New York earlier Monday to “take this storm seriously.”
More than 200 million people across the U.S. are in the path of the arctic blasts, Marciano said. Wind chills hit negative 40 degrees in parts of the North and dipped into the 20s in Florida. On Sunday, snow fell as far south as the Florida Panhandle and made it harder for football players to hang onto the ball during playoff games in Massachusetts and Chicago.
The latest snow cover as of Monday.
CBS News
The rare snowstorm also dusted Alabama and Georgia with 1 to 3 inches of snow over the weekend, forcing drivers to brace for icy roads. Those as far south as Orlando and Fort Myers, Florida, are expected to see near or below freezing wind chills through at least Wednesday, according to Marciano. Â
Frigid weather is expected to spread from the north-central U.S. to the Northeast by Friday, according to the NWS Weather Prediction Center. Then the bitter cold is forecast to move to the southern Plains to the mid-Atlantic, and could linger the rest of January, the center said Monday.
Wind chill forecast for Wednesday morning.
CBS News
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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