This storm just froze half of North America

Jan 27, 2026 - 04:00
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This storm just froze half of North America
Plow trucks clear a street, as snow begins to fall during a major winter storm that swept across a large swath of the United States, in New York City

A massive winter storm has buried millions under a historic blanket of snow and ice, locking much of North America in a dangerous Arctic air mass. CBC’s Johanna Wagstaffe breaks down the rare atmospheric collision of a polar vortex and an atmospheric river — two extreme weather phenomena that combined to create this record-breaking, high-impact event.